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jpak

(41,741 posts)
Thu Apr 19, 2012, 09:27 AM Apr 2012

Siemens Figures Out What to Do With Night Wind (electrolysis, hydrogen storage)

http://cleantechnica.com/2012/04/19/siemens-figures-out-what-to-do-with-night-wind/

German energy giant Siemens has a solution in the works to tap the unused wind-powered electricity that goes to waste at night because no one is up and about. The planet’s daily temperature swings stir up night-time winds, just when no one needs electricity.

Solving the storage issue is especially crucial for Germany, which, by cutting its nuclear power, is correspondingly scaling up its offshore wind power 20-fold by 2020 — when it will have 10 GW of wind power on the grid.

Using part of their annual 1 billion euro R&D budget ($1.3 billion), Siemens is working on devising large scale electrolysis that would convert wind energy into gas that can be stored — as electricity cannot be — and can then be shipped out, when it is needed, by pipeline.

Their electrolyser, a soccer-field-sized plant that converts power into storable hydrogen, is in the testing phase, Michael Weinhold, chief technology officer of Siemens’ energy businesses told Bloomberg.

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Siemens Figures Out What to Do With Night Wind (electrolysis, hydrogen storage) (Original Post) jpak Apr 2012 OP
Electricity can't be stored? Silly. saras Apr 2012 #1
Electricity cannot be stored efficiently longship Apr 2012 #2
Durn Germans RobertEarl Apr 2012 #3
 

saras

(6,670 posts)
1. Electricity can't be stored? Silly.
Thu Apr 19, 2012, 11:40 AM
Apr 2012

That's what batteries do. Or hydropower reservoirs, if you want a large-scale one. I think we could do something even more efficient by lifting rock instead of water. Lift it with excess energy, lower it to recover the energy. Stuff the whole thing underground - it's about as polluting as a hydro reservoir.

longship

(40,416 posts)
2. Electricity cannot be stored efficiently
Thu Apr 19, 2012, 01:16 PM
Apr 2012

Battery technology is dodgy at best to supply an electrical grid. It is too expensive, too inefficient at those scales.

I like the electrolysis idea because it allows both night winds to be stored for daytime use, and daytime solar to be used during night time when electric lighting is used.

Pumping water up to later drive turbines is another, but I never heard of rocks being used. Interesting idea, though.

Unfortunately batteries just aren't there yet.

 

RobertEarl

(13,685 posts)
3. Durn Germans
Thu Apr 19, 2012, 10:17 PM
Apr 2012

They get all the cool stuff first.

And they will stop China from being able to take it over because it is such a huge operation. Unlike PV solar panels.

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