Dear Jeane, Andy, Simon et al: Excellent discussion thread. Lead-acid batteries are certainly one of the weakest points in stand-alone systems though if Tompkins County were able to manage their own power grid, we could potential use the grid as one large battery. Lead acid batteries are costly, difficult to dispose of, need constant maintenance, and have to be changed frequently.
Storing water at highpoints on the landscape makes a lot of sense--particularly so in a geographic area like Ithaca with high gorge and low valley features. For more information on "Pumped Storage Hydroelectric" see the following article at wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricity. Such a system can have 70- 85% efficiency and modulate intermittency issues for wind and solar systems. Note that when water catchment and storage occurs at the location of water storage no extra energy is required to pump water uphill (though this option could still be built into the system). Thus if we can trap significant amounts of energy at the top of gorges using simple water catchment techniques (i.e. large roof structures like barns), we are provided with "free" energy in the form of water with embedded potential energy. The article I referred to earlier about the plan to provide 100% renewable energy through wind, pv, and biomass is available at: http://www.kombikraftwerk.de/index.php?id=27. Ryan D. Hottle On Thu, Apr 10, 2008 at 3:17 PM, Andy Goodell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 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. > -Andy > _______________________________________________ > 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 > -- Ryan Darrell Hottle The Renaissance Group Program Manager www.ConserveFirst.com Global Climate Solutions www.GlobalClimateSolutions.org (coming soon!) Ohio Peak Oil Action (OPOA) Co-Founder, Director www.ohiopeakoilaction.org 30 N. Rose Blvd. Akron, OH 44022 (740) 258 8450 _______________________________________________ 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
