Undersea air bags store wind power
The University of Nottingham is busy trying to find ways to store wind energy. What its researchers have come up with is an idea along the lines of MIT’s: large inflatable storage bags submerged underwater. The concept involves collecting excess energy from offshore wind farms in inflatable air bags that are moored to the seabed off Scotland’s Orkney Islands. During days when the air is still, the stored energy can be released to power turbines to produce electricity. According to tests conducted, a 20 meter diameter bag could store up to 70MWh of energy at depths of 600 meters.
Compressed air system to save wind power for future use
SustainX is a company that’s looking to make air compression technology commercially viable. The West Lebanon startup has already successfully demonstrated a 40 kW prototype system and is currently working on a one MW project. Instead of underground systems, SustainX is making use of above the ground storage tanks. Since the conventional turbine doesn’t work in above ground tanks, the company has introduced cost effective pistons with better compression ability. When pressure in the tank gets too low to drive turbines, the pistons compensate by functioning at a wider range. The pistons are driven by electricity and when energy is released, the decompressed air works the pistons to operate a generator. The company is now looking to develop an effective and efficient isothermal compressed air technology.
Flywheel based power storage can replace batteries and store energy
The ancient flywheel could make a comeback if companies like Vycon have anything to do about it. It has developed a prototype flywheel system that harnesses dissipated energy when shipping cranes are lowered. It has also developed another system that harnesses and stores braking energy from trains. Similar to KERS systems used on race cars, Vycon’s concepts make use of kinetic energy, which is otherwise wasted and stores it to be used to provide backup power.
– source ecofriend.com