Power Plant Wants To Build 2,000 Feet Underground (1 GW pumped storage, Maine)

[jpak]

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=93255

WISCASSET (NEWS CENTER) -- A Canadian company wants to build a $2 billion power plant in Wiscasset 2,000 feet underground. The huge and unique proposal was outlined to the town's planning board Monday night, and so far, town officials say they're very interested.

Wiscasset has electric transmission lines and a big industrial switching station left over from Maine Yankee. Wiscasset also has available industrial land next door, as well as water. A company from Toronto called River Bank Power wants to use that water to generate a thousand megawatts of electricity.

They plan to do this by digging a series of shafts or channels 2,000 feet straight down through bedrock. They would then have turbines at the bottom and river water would pour down the shafts and generate power. Water would be stored in gigantic chambers, and then pumped back to the surface at night, when electric usage is much lower.

Wiscasset town planner Jeff Hinderliter says Riverbank Power was received well at the planning board meeting. He says there are a lot of questions that will need to be answered, but for now, the project looks promising. He also says it would finally bring good development to land that used to be owned by Maine Yankee.

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on edt: just what the doctor ordered to manage the 1000-2000 MW of wind and tidal power under development in the state...

:bounce:

[kristopher]

1. Interesting concept; borrowing power instead of storing it.

They extract energy during the day and use off peak generated energy to pay it back AFTER.

Another article about the same company doing it on the St. Lawrence River: http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20080509/NEWS05/714511733

Not sure what the benefits are as opposed to pumping it first as storage for spilled energy.

[Indenturedebtor]

2. Hmmm what happens to the fish and whatnot?

Freshwater smoothie? :shrug:

[jpak]

3. This was on the local 6 o'clock news. It uses recycled water.

The developers propose to excavate multiple 2000 foot vertical head shafts that power underground turbines. The turbines spill into large-volume underground chambers that would store the water used to generate electricity during peak demand periods.

Water in the underground storage chambers would then be pumped back to surface reservoirs during off peak periods.

etc.

No need to chew up the fishies...

:hi:

[Indenturedebtor]

4. Nice :D n/t

[kristopher]

5. Not so sure of that...

The St. Lawrence article says the draw is enough to affect the river's water level. That is a lot of water to build two separate storage systems for...

[NNadir]

6. Oh really? The second law of thermodynamics doesn't apply in Maine?

Basically when you scratch the surface of an anti-nuke you see someone who can't tell the difference betweeen energy storage and energy creation.

Maine doesn't even produce the energy it needs in situ from wind or solar. It's a gas kingdom with it's ass on the line when Sable Island goes dry, which it will.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/st_profiles/sept05me.xls

We'll just pile this with all the other wishful thinking that's blathered here for the last six years.

[kristopher]

7. Storage: another nail in nuclear energy's casket.

[joshcryer]

8. Exactly where are people missing that this isn't a power plant?

It says in the title that it's about storing energy.

[jpak]

12. Boo Freakin' Hoo Hoo and LOL

Maine generates 47% of its electricity from wood biomass and conventional hydro...more than any other state.

~8,200,000 MWh per year

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/state_profiles/maine.html

Maine is a NET EXPORTER of electricity

16,816,173 MWh total annual production

12,284,768 MWh per annum in-state sales

If Maine withdrew from ISO New England and had to "go it alone" it could satisfy 67% of its in-state demand from renewables - TODAY.

More than any other state - including Nuclear-New-Jersey-Which-Is-A-Fraud.

The EIA figures do not include electricity generated from THe 42 MW Mars Hill wind farm.

There are >1000 MW of new on-shore wind capacity under development in Maine with an additional 3000 MW in potential off-shore wind capacity.

There are ~300 MW of tidal power capacity under development in Maine.

Maine utilities are upgrading the state's electrical grid in anticipation of these developments.

This large pumped storage facility - like the one under development in Spain - would manage power output from those new renewable assets and do it economically.

In a few short years, Maine will be able to satisfy ALL of its electrical demand from renewable sources - and do it reliably.

Too bad for you and your NEI cronies.

DIRIGO

:rofl:

[jpak]

13. Oh yeah - only a pro-nuclear dumbass would claim that the 2nd Law

allows for energy CREATION...

sick fuck pro-nucular fundy creationist nonsense

I hope those NEI crooks didn't pay a whole lot for that lunch they bought you.

:rofl:

[ElectricGrid]

14. What are you talking about?

this is storage.. not creation.

[joshcryer]

9. I've begun to design a "gravity battery" for my windmills, this is a very good concept.

Good old reliable gravity.

[kristopher]

10. I wanted to put my house on a hoist

my wife didn't care for the idea....

Using what?

[joshcryer]

11. The land I'm looking at has a lot of huge rocks.

I was thinking of using strong steel cabling and just hoisting it up with energy from the windmills, then as it falls back down (when there's not enough power in the system to maintain the drain) it returns the kenetic energy.

This is the good thing about being a bachelor. ;) No one will care if I have a couple of big ass windmills and a big barn with a big container of rocks hanging from the ceiling!

I'll definitely be posting more about it as soon as the land agreement happens and I start building. It's all super-preliminary.

[kristopher]

15. Consider pushing it up instead of pulling it up.

An inexpensive automobile lift is often gear driven instead of hydraulic. Soon you will probably be able to buy a Hummer and park it on the lift and use it as dead weight.

If you do this I'd love to hear about it.

[joshcryer]

16. Two options I considered were flywheel driven or gear driven.

Both would require gears but a flywheel reduces the complexity of the system. But I want the system to last 50 years or more with maintainance, and I think a flywheel is going to need replacing every few years or so.

I don't think, though this is just guessing, that an automobile lift would have the proper gear ratio, much less be able to hold a significant amount of kenetic energy. I want at least enough power to last 10 days without wind (though the land I'm looking at rarely has days like that).

But cute with the Hummer idea. They should be worth more in metal in due time. ;)