20150823: Salt Water Energy Storage
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 6:42 pm
An article by Ivan Penn recently appeared in the online space. The topic is a fresh water hydraulic storage system built late last century in California, to serve as a backup for the statewide energy supplier. The storage system worked well, but it's value is now in question because of the sustained drought impacting California.
Mr. Penn reported the views of various high ranking persons who lamented the lack of fresh water to sustain this expensive and successful energy storage system.
It occurred to me that this is one of many examples of frozen thinking that seems to afflict all of us, but is REALLY obvious when the victim is in a position of great responsibility.
A friend with an engineering background has confounded me over the past year, by pointing out frozen thinking to which I have been subject in a project we are doing. I suppose the phenomenon I'm discussing is similar to tunnel vision, or perhaps the notorious "thinking inside the box".
So it is that the obvious idea of using salt water for water energy reservoirs will inevitably fail to become reality because "it has never been done that way".
For the readers of this forum, who are interested in planning for times of great difficulty, perhaps having an awareness that salt water CAN INDEED serve as the working fluid for a hydraulic energy storage system will be useful.
(th)
Mr. Penn reported the views of various high ranking persons who lamented the lack of fresh water to sustain this expensive and successful energy storage system.
It occurred to me that this is one of many examples of frozen thinking that seems to afflict all of us, but is REALLY obvious when the victim is in a position of great responsibility.
A friend with an engineering background has confounded me over the past year, by pointing out frozen thinking to which I have been subject in a project we are doing. I suppose the phenomenon I'm discussing is similar to tunnel vision, or perhaps the notorious "thinking inside the box".
So it is that the obvious idea of using salt water for water energy reservoirs will inevitably fail to become reality because "it has never been done that way".
For the readers of this forum, who are interested in planning for times of great difficulty, perhaps having an awareness that salt water CAN INDEED serve as the working fluid for a hydraulic energy storage system will be useful.
(th)