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alclarkey t1_j4o1ai5 wrote

Reply to comment by Allomera in UCI Researchers Discover Nanowire Coating Technology that Could Make Batteries Last Forever by otvortex

> Even the cheapest large scale energy storage method, pumped storage hydropower, is being implemented at a depressingly slow pace.

Well, yeah, because it takes A LOT of real estate do so. Falling water doesn't generate as much energy as you might think.

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Thatblokeoffthetelly t1_j4qrr5i wrote

Keep seeing this and wind touted as next gen solutions when under sea currents are 24/7 and produce far more power. Why aren’t ppl rushing to build more undersea power gens?

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alclarkey t1_j4riujw wrote

Because the water is filled with salt, and any generator you use is going to necessarily need to have some metal components. They'll be destroyed by rust in days.

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Allomera t1_j4ryjpl wrote

That's very true, but it's possible and doesn't have to be expensive. Especially in mountainous areas with rivers which already utilize hydropower or coastal areas with existing dykes.

Plans for PSH reservoirs spanning a few dozen square km with pump turbines that work both ways (pump water out, generate electricity when water flows in) are ready to be executed. The expertise required lies with the engineering companies that built the Delta Works in the Netherlands, the Thames Barrier, the Dubai Palm Islands, Bath County Pumped Storage Station etc.

I think the issue is the huge up front investment these projects require, despite PSH being the cheapest storage method at very high scale and capacity. There's just not much profit to be made in that market outside of China it seems

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alclarkey t1_j4s38f5 wrote

Figure out how to make it profitable, and it'll happen over night.

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