underwater pumped storage/~battery

cycleops612

10 kW
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May 31, 2015
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Sydney Australia, Me: 70kg/154lb. 350w, 22kg ex ba
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21709527-pumped-storage-gets-makeover-depths-imagination

my comment:

"Well yes, but what about also getting a leg up from tides?

A seasonal 15m tide range is the globes biggest in bay of fundy, but big tides are not uncommon, especially in the UK.

So these underwater "bladders" (in no anchoring zones :)) could generate as well as store power.

~Fluid pumped in around low tide at relatively low pressure, is squeezed by extra weight at high tides (1 tonne is 1 cubic m of water). and then expelled for a net gain in power.

In Fundy btw, they have 2 tides a day.

This is a new approach, in that tidal power, mostly assumes harnessing water movement using ~turbines. This method relies on simple weight. No obstructive, surface mega structures, messing with fish migrations etc.

so a 100 sq m of seafloor bladder experiencing a conservative 10m tide twice daily, has 2000 tonnes of daily force applied/released to play with.

Its also harnessing gravity, which is pretty cool. Einstein would be pleased."
 
I had the idea years ago, when I was off grid, of a energy storage system involving water being pumped up into an elevated tank, in times of " battery float" ( full charge on my 1200 lb 24 v. battery, but still sunny/windy). The tank ( 5000 gallons or so) would be attached to a mechanism akin to a grandfather clock: an elevated tower, as the 40,000 lb water decended, it would ( somehow) through gearing, turn a generator. It would work I'm sure, but be laughably inefficient no doubt. You'd need 2 tanks, so you wouldn't waste the water. Rube Goldberg thinking.....
 
100 sqm of seafloor bladder experiencing a conservative 10m tide twice daily, has 2000 tonnes of daily force applied/released to play with.....
True, but 10m of tide will only increase the pressure in the bladder by 2 bar.
I dont know off hand what that represents in terms of energy increase ( depends on the VOLUME of the bladder). byt it doesnt sound like commercial scale power.
Im also trying to imagine how those guys working on that large scale system at 600m depth, using 12,000 cu m storage spheres, plan on anchoring them down when they are pumped empty during charging.?
That would be 12,000 tons of buoyancy to anchor down ! :shock:
 
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