Jan
11
Gravity Is Back In Energy Storage In A Very Different Way
January 11, 2022 | Leave a Comment
The puzzle that bedevils renewables in electrification is storage. We usually think of batteries as the obvious solution and that is an excellent answer in small quantities and short periods of time. The problem lies in renewables needing daylight or wind to generate power and when the base energy source sets or dies down the […]
Oct
27
Can Pumped Hydro Systems Work At Small Scale?
October 27, 2016 | 18 Comments
Université Libre de Bruxelles School of Engineering researchers are investigating whether energy storage via pumped hydro systems is possible on a very small scale, particularly in buildings. The team used the Goudemand apartment building in Arras in France as their case study for Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES). So far pumped-storage hydroelectricity systems are to […]
May
28
Almost Free Energy That Might Work Out
May 28, 2015 | 38 Comments
There is a new energy generating idea based on floating the buckets of a bucket elevator running backwards in a column of water. Its almost that simple. Add an air compressor to blow the water out of the buckets for the ride up and a generator connected to one of the elevator shafts and you […]
May
30
Energy From Simply Trying to Float
May 30, 2012 | 5 Comments
Here’s the at home test, push a plastic cup that’s upside down into water. Gravity working on the mass of the displaced water is trying to push the cup back up, that’s buoyancy. Simple enough, and there is a wealth of places to do this, wells, ponds, lakes, standpipes, water heaters, anywhere that gravity can […]
May
18
The Scots Get Tidal Power Underway
May 18, 2012 | 2 Comments
Scottish Power Renewables (SPR) installation of a 1MW HS1000 tidal turbine developed by Andritz Hydro Hammerfest, installed in December 2011 has since been undergoing tests in the tidal waters around Orkney. The test device located off Orkney is providing electricity for homes and businesses on the northern Orkney island of Eday to prove that the […]