Solar energy stored for up to 18 years.

[DeathtoGnomes]

Hi,
Indeed for some odd reason some think there is some sort of excess green energy around not being used

There is, we just need to capture it all!

 

[ThrashZone]

There is, we just need to capture it all!

Hi,
Yep Germany couldn't do it and they tried, now has a deal for oil pipeline with RUS.

 

[looniam]

Hi,
Indeed for some odd reason some think there is some sort of excess green energy around not being used

well theoretically mass is energy at rest, so they aren't wrong.

 

[R-T-B]

Why would you want to produce electrity today, only to bottle it up and not use it for 18 years? Why not just wait 18 years then produce the electricity?

That wasn't the question nor the point. I'm sure there is some obscure use case.

Hi,
Indeed for some odd reason some think there is some sort of excess green energy around not being used

I mean there plainly is. Ever seen the sun? We can measure it's output. It's enormous. However the question is if capturing it is really practical or worth it.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

mean there plainly is. Ever seen the sun? We can measure it's output. It's enormous. However the question is if capturing it is really practical or worth it.

If we had the capability to build a Dyson Sphere capturing it would be the easy part.

Afterall, the Moon is a Dyson sphere. Did any see that new movie, MoonFall? If its in a movie its real, right?

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Welp if you've ever went fishing the sun reflection will blind you so harness that wasted energy asap

 

[R-T-B]

Hi,
Welp if you've ever went fishing the sun reflection will blind you so harness that wasted energy asap

If you want to harvest all the energy ever to hit the earth I hope you have one hell of a place to store it.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

If you want to harvest all the energy ever to hit the earth I hope you have one hell of a place to store it.

For 18 years

 

[R-T-B]

For 18 years

For safety.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

For safety.

For Science!

 

[R-T-B]

For Science!

It glows!

 

[DoLlyBirD]

Didn't Tesla figure out unlimited free electricity before they killed him off and stole his research?

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Hi,
Welp if you've ever went fishing the sun reflection will blind you so harness that wasted energy asap

It's not wasted. It's part of what drives weather patterns to irrigate continents and islands. It is also fuel for all plant life on Earth which is a foundational food supply for all animals on Earth. Humans have to be very careful with repurposing solar energy for non-solar use because it shifts the balance of the ecosystem. It really is a butterfly effect: even placing solar panels in a desert with no plants/no animals will still cause localized warming which can change wind patterns which can affect life downwind. Every acre converted to human use is disrupting something even if we can't easily identify it now.

The only place where it makes sense to deploy solar is on already black roofs (no change in albedo); however, the 25% capacity factor always rears its ugly head with solar which is why most electric companies don't want you putting it in the grid because it costs them a lot of money to deal with it. Solar is the worst form of electricity unless you're far removed from the grid...and then you're forced to adopt your usage patterns to align with the sun.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Didn't Tesla figure out unlimited free electricity before they killed him off and stole his research?

yes.

 

[R-T-B]

yes.

Scientists hate this!

The only place where it makes sense to deploy solar is on already black roofs

or space.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Scientists hate this!

that.

 

[R-T-B]

that.

I mean I was just poking fun at the fascination with Tesla. He came up with (or largely marketed at least) AC polyphase power, but he didn't make free electricity, and was also a bit of an eccentric nut. At the end of his life, he legit believed he was romantically in love with a common pigeon, and largely had no money to show for his creations and wonders. He also sunk tons of money into largely unfeasible laser deathray ideas for the government.

Edison wasn't much better being an asshole in his own right who stole more ideas than he created, but Tesla was a bit off too.

Heroes are often less heroic when you get to know them, though... Almost like they too, are human or something.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

I mean I was just poking fun at the fascination with Tesla. He came up with (or largely marketed at least) AC polyphase power, but he didn't make free electricity, and was also a bit of an eccentric nut. At the end of his life, he legit believed he was romantically in love with a common pigeon, and largely had no money to show for his creations and wonders. He also sunk tons of money into largely unfeasible laser deathray ideas for the government.

Edison wasn't much better being an asshole in his own right who stole more ideas than he created, but Tesla was a bit off too.

Heroes are often less heroic when you get to know them, though...

Tesla did dream of free electricity, one experiment with an energy collector, something I dont remember anything about, but wardenclyffe tower was supposed to be part of, lets call it theory, wireless electricity concept that might have lead to free electricity. The tower as a transmitter and the collector to turn into usable power.

At the end of his life there was several conspiracy theories why he lost his mind, out side of his, *gasp*, old age. Think about this, in that period of time how many people actually lived well into their 80s that didnt have some sort of mental dysfunction. TBH I feel bad for Tesla, his ideas were great for humanity, but pure shit for business side of them. There is no doubt he was a target of financial ruin, it was no secret Edison had it out for him ever since the AC/DC war. Edison would never let that grudge go.

Heroes are often less heroic when you get to know them, though...

True. True.

 

[R-T-B]

At the end of his life there was several conspiracy theories why he lost his mind, out side of his, *gasp*, old age. Think about this, in that period of time how many people actually lived well into their 80s that didnt have some sort of mental dysfunction. TBH I feel bad for Tesla, his ideas were great for humanity, but pure shit for business side of them. There is no doubt he was a target of financial ruin, it was no secret Edison had it out for him ever since the AC/DC war. Edison would never let that grudge go.

I'm on the same page here. I just like to bring people back down to earth sometimes. Like I edited in at the end, remember we are all human. I think it helps to keep our heroes in that context.

I do agree that if we judged everyone by their final years, we'd all likely be senile argumentative old folks... and not surprising. End of life just isn't a fun time. I'm certain that was a lot to do with Teslas older life phase eccentricities.

 

[Assimilator]

If you want electricity for 18 years without any new inputs, you're going to use an RTG (Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator) or "nuclear battery" (also radioactive decay but diamonds convert the particles into electricity)

You seem to be wilfully ignoring the fact that this is far safer than anything that uses radioactive fuel sources.

 

[Bomby569]

I honestly see no use for this, i can't imagine a case where we need to store energy in that time frame, or even 10, or 5 years or even less. It's a solution for a problem that doesn't exist.

The more we had the more we would use. Long storage capacity is like trying to invent a ice cream that isn't cold, what would be the point then.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

I honestly see no use for this, i can't imagine a case where we need to store energy in that time frame, or even 10, or 5 years or even less. It's a solution for a problem that doesn't exist.

I can see a potential use for storing energy for as long as it takes to build a new power plant. Not longer.

 

[InVasMani]

We already have a power plant it's called the Sun we just to harvest that energy closer to it capture it and return with it.

 

[Bomby569]

I can see a potential use for storing energy for as long as it takes to build a new power plant. Not longer.

what? i didn't understood. Why would we need to store energy in that specific case? Why would we need a new power plant if we had that much excess of energy to have to store it for decades?

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

what? i didn't understood. Why would we need to store energy in that specific case? Why would we need a new power plant if we had that much excess of energy to have to store it for decades?

Store when the load on the grid is light. As grid load increases past what can be supplied, use the stored energy to take care of the excess load until you can build a power plant to support that load. Rinse and repeat.