Re:Giant flywheel project in Scotland could prevent UK black...
by msandford on Tuesday July 07, 2020 @11:29AM
(#23760230)
So are you saying that the entire mass of the whole flywheel is all the synchronous motor?
I guess I had assumed -- especially based on the picture and description -- that a portion of the mass of the device was the synchronous motor and that a portion of the mass of the device is just "dead weight" whose purpose is just to act as energy storage via rotational inertia.
The parallels to the steam turbine would seem apt; the turbine end of a generator has a lot of mass relative to the electrical end. Isn't that a part of the point? Or did I miss something?
It's a synchronous motor which normally idles at the Mains frequency, but if the Mains frequency attempts to change, the rotor inputs massive amount of current (leading or lagging) into the mains which prevents the change.
There is no need for a drive motor.
In the industry they are known as a "Synchronous Condenser" or Syncom. They have been in use for a long time.
https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2019/04/06/long-read-b...