• Chloë (she/her)@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    5 months ago

    Did you know that the best way we currently have to store energy are dams? In most dams you can install a pump to take water and store it higher, then when energy is needed you simply open the turbine.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      The problem with dams or pumped storage is it only works in specific places where you have a higher place to put lots of water.

    • HeartyBeast@kbin.social
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      5 months ago

      You need a certain kind of landscape for that. I think the UK only has a couple of pumped storage power stations due to lack of suitable sites

      • freebee@sh.itjust.works
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        5 months ago

        Pretty sure geographically germany still has a few nice spots for it. Allgau, Schwarzwald, Pfälzerwald …

        It’s just all these damn people with their damn towns and livelyhoods that are in the way.

    • BigFig@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Hydrogen and Methane Power-to-gas can store more power for longer than hydro pump

        • Grimy@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          The downvotes are because almost all of the global hydrogen production is made either with natural gas, as a byproduct of oil drilling or through coal.

          In its current state, it is a fake green product pushed by the oil industry to hamper the transition.

          • PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works
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            5 months ago

            Ah - that makes sense, thank you. You’re correct, but I work in the aerospace industry with hydrogen fuel cells and green hydrogen is all I’m familiar with, but I realize now that this was bias on my part.

          • catloaf@lemm.ee
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            5 months ago

            Is hydrolysis not cost-effective? If we have excess electricity, as in this case, can we not use that to get hydrogen?

          • BigFig@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            On the recent lemmy topic of using up votes and down votes incorrectly.

            Literally just stating a verifiable fact, not in support or against the technology, and I get down voted lol.

        • bobburger@fedia.io
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          5 months ago

          I think it’s the physical size of the reservoir that is the limiting factor. You can’t reasonable expand most reservoirs, but it’s relatively easy to create new hydrogen/methane storage tanks.

          • sunbeam60@lemmy.one
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            5 months ago

            Yes but pumped storage is about 80% round trip efficiency vs power to x which is barely touching 20% out of the lab. And power to X needs an epic fuckton of very clean water, which also isn’t easy to find.

      • sunbeam60@lemmy.one
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        5 months ago

        At huge inefficiency loss though. Denmark is probably further with this than anywhere else in the world and even they are sputtering on getting this going.