Huge Global Study Just Smashed One of The Last Major Arguments Against Renewables

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-spot-530-000-potential-pumped-hydro-sites-to-meet-all-our-renewable-energy-needs

Huge Global Study Just Smashed One of The Last Major Arguments Against Renewables
DAVID NIELD | 31 MAR 2019

We just got some massive news in the ongoing drive to switch to renewable energy: scientists have identified 530,000 sites worldwide suitable for pumped-hydro energy storage, capable of storing more than enough energy to power the entire planet.

Pumped-hydro is one of the best technologies we have for storing intermittent renewable energy, such as solar power, which means these sites could act as giant batteries, helping to support cheap, fully renewable power grids.

As of now the sites have only been identified by an algorithm, so further on-the-ground research needs to be done. But it was previously assumed there were only limited suitable sites around the world, and that we wouldn't be able to store enough renewable energy for high-demand times – which this study shows isn't the case at all.

Added together, these hundreds of thousands of sites have the potential to store around 22 million Gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy. It's more than enough to get the entire planet running on renewables, which is where we want to get to.

…

[mr_lebowski]

1. I always wondered why this simple, almost 100% safe and relatively bio-friendly tech

wasn't being discussed more often as a substitute for resource-intensive chemical-based batteries.

Yes it will involve some flooding, and habitat destruction, and probably a lot of eminent domain, but compared to the alternatives?

If the sites are there, it makes a tremendous amount of sense.

For those who don't know, this basically means making a reservoir at a higher elevation, setting up a dam, and then pumping water uphill to the reservoir whenever there's excess energy generated by the renewable grid. Then when the wind/sun/whatnot STOPS, you open the dam, and go hydro-electric til it starts again.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. It does take a lot of land and water

Here's the world's largest facility: https://www.dominionenergy.com/about-us/making-energy/renewable-generation/water/bath-county-pumped-storage-station
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_County_Pumped_Storage_Station

[Finishline42]

4. That one in Virginia has been in operation since 1985!

[2naSalit]

3. I think that localized

generation is better. No major outages, point source generation for isolated areas and other options for more condensed areas rather than develop huge swaths of land destroying habitat.