Re:Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price in the U.S
by rsynnott on Wednesday July 11, 2018 @03:36PM
(#17509690)
Pumped storage is great where the geography makes sense, but there are a limited number of good sites which can be economically connected where needed to grids. Long-term, I'd have more hope for currently emergent tech (flow batteries etc).
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Re:Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price in the U.S
by jbrownpa on Wednesday July 11, 2018 @03:45PM
(#17509753)
it is true that pumped storage and great solar locations are often in different locations.
maybe there is a possibility for retrofitting some existing dams that are used primarily as resevoirs and not power plants, since pumped-storage are net-neutral on resevoir storage.
example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Dam
...but i am NOT an expert by any means, and it's probably way more complicated than that.
Re:Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price in the U.S
by Taniwha on Wednesday July 11, 2018 @04:21PM
(#17509996)
I think the easy way to do this is simply to build extra generation capability on existing hydro dams, then letting the dams fill while the sun shines and the wind blows and empty out faster when they don't