Andy Goodell wrote: > I had an idea with storing water which I would love to build someday. > The idea starts with a wind turbine which does not need to be very large > at all. This would pump water up (into storage somewhere). > Alternatively, a bike or any other form of energy which results in > rotation could pump the water up (treadmills, playground equip, or just > a hand pump). Then, when power is needed, a microhydro type of > rotational energy collection could be used - on demand - as long as > there is water with potential energy. I think this has some interesting > benefits since it could use clean materials mostly. Since the water flow > would be constant when needed, a specific power output would be > possible, which may eliminate the need for batteries. As much as I like > solar and wind power, I still see some non-sustainable aspects to using > batteries to store the power, which this system *may* be able to avoid > while still producing consistent electricity.
I've been thinking along similar lines on a small scale, and I believe Norway does this on a large scale in combination with hydroelectric dams. Windmills pump water uphill behind the dam, and then the water is used for hydro as needed. On a small scale, I don't see any tremendous added inefficiencies. On a large scale, you'd probably need an already-existing hydro project. Good stuff! Thanks, Simon St.Laurent http://livingindryden.org/ _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
