subject: How to Store Electricity - Nature of Wind and Solar Electric Power [print this page] How to Store Electricity - Nature of Wind and Solar Electric Power
governments are trying to create you buy-in for the electric automobile hype. Personally, I don't think it can be going to function, regardless of the subsidies (by governments out of your tax dollars) along with the heavy marketing through the producers (paid for by you on a brand new car obtain). There is certainly a easy option.
How you can retailer electrical energy
The storage of option (electric) energy, as from wind and solar sources will be the actual challenge. When compared with gasoline or diesel, even the top batteries do not arrive anywhere shut for the power storage density from the liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Gasoline or diesel have a storage density of approximately 50 times that of the most effective alternative. So, why not make gasoline from wind and photo voltaic energy as opposed to attempting to retailer the electric energy straight?
Actually, the procedure of converting electricity to gasoline is extremely easy. It demands only limestone and water (and, certainly, electricity).
Chemistry
The chemical reduction and conversion of coal to gasoline continues to be recognized and utilised for some seventy five several years. It had been practiced large scale in Germany during WWII. Using limestone as carbon supply, as opposed to coal, needs just a different action in the method, also known for centuries. Upon heating, limestone disintegrates to lime (calcium oxide) and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide will be the same materials obtained from burning coal.
The response of carbon dioxide and hydrogen at substantial temperature produces hydrocarbons., i.e. gasoline and diesel merchandise. Hydrogen, obviously, is accessible in limitless amounts on electrolysis of water. All that's necessary for that is electrical power.
Technology
The nature of wind and photo voltaic electric energy would make them rather intermittent and unreliable energy resources. The major trouble, as a result, would be to discover a storage system which can adapt to this variability in power production and, simultaneously, is simple, cost-effective, and may make use from the current technologies and infrastructure.
All of the technology and processes necessary for the electricity-to-gasoline or diesel conversion have already been perfected for lots of decades by now. So, why not rely on them to store extremely variable electric power from wind and solar systems to create gasoline or diesel?
This approach does not need expensive substantial power density automotive batteries (not accessible), or superconducting transmission lines (not available), or every other new, as however unavailable technology. Furthermore, tesla's simple generator in general energy terms, it's no much less power efficient than batteries and does not require any alter in gasoline stations, and so on.
