Peak electricity demand can be supplied by wind energy stored in the potential energy of water pumped into elevated reservoirs.
8:30 This video goes through the numbers to explain that supplying peak demand for electricity in Ireland (a windy, hilly, sparsely-populated, rainy country that's perfect for such projects) would require 37 projects similar to the one depicted. Only one such project is under construction in Ireland, mired in ten years of red tape over environmental impact and cost.
13:55 salt water pumping opens up many more potential locations, but has only been tried once. (More expensive materials would be needed to withstand corrosive effects.)
15:25 An analysis of future renewable energy sources to cover peak demand, commissioned by Bill Gates, shows "pumped hydro" is optimized for 12-72 hours of energy storage, whereas longer storage is best done with creating hydrogen from excess electricity.
(VRFB in the graph is just another type of rechargeable battery.)
Interesting to see "flywheels" as the optimal storage for very short duration bursts of power.
So, getting renewable energy to replace fossil fuels for electricity demand is not as simple as it might first appear.
Also, another energy storage scheme uses weights stacked by cranes to store energy for peak demand.
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