To make solar power viable, we need a solution for overnight energy storage.

Batteries are complicated.

Do you know what isn't? Water go up. stonks-up

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[–] 31 points 2 years ago (9 children)

I've also seen a version of this that uses an electric locomotive that moves a big weight up and down a slope.

Personally I think we should put big weights on pulleys in every high rise, like a grandfather clock.

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  • [–] 15 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Personally I think we should put big weights on pulleys in every high rise, like a grandfather clock.

    How big? Seems like you would need quite a bit of weight to store any useful amount. Using this calculator: https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/physics/gravitational-potential.php and assuming my values are right, if you had something the size of a bus (16,000 kg) pulled up through something as tall as the Empire State Building (380 m roof height), you'd get about 16.56 kWh, which isn't all that much. I think a typical EV battery size is about 40 kWh in comparison. With hydro storage on the other hand, you can store a shit ton of water in a reservoir without any major constraints besides the overall size, which is massive.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago* (2 children)
  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    That link isn't working for me:

    Got error: "Sign in to confirm that you're not a bot"

    Edit: is it this one? https://youtu.be/oCv3ygvEjFo

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