Posted on 07/25/2018 9:59:20 AM PDT by SpeedyInTexas
Thanks. I haven’t had enough coffee.
““pumped storage hydroelectricity””
There are some hydro power lakes in the Blue Ridge that use that concept.
This is a big dam deal. Someone should find the dam man and tell him to get crackin’ on the dam idea.
Lesson #1 in evaluating news articles about energy: when a cost analysis omits important info, it is because that info hurts their case. They are lying by omission and some readers here fell for it.
Why no mention of magnitude and duration of this new energy source (how many mwh/mo would be produced)? They mentioned capital cost of new pumping system, but failed to include the capital costs of the solar/wind generating plant. Is that part of the system free? (translation: gubermint mandates to build solar/wind capacity is not cost free).
Why would anyone bother to estimate construction costs and fail to even mention similar costs for new generation (also no mention of operating costs)? Answer: because this is a political idea masquerading as an engineering project. At best, it’s an attempt to partially recover from their previous failed predictions about how solar/wind was going to save us.
https://www.tva.gov/Energy/Our-Power-System/Hydroelectric/Raccoon-Mountain
The Raccoon Mountain project is TVA’s largest hydroelectric facility. Water is pumped to the reservoir on top of the mountain and then used to generate electricity when additional power is needed by the TVA system.
Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant is located in southeast Tennessee on a site that overlooks the Tennessee River near Chattanooga.
Yeah. Ideas like this start out at the $3 billion mentioned, and wind up $103 billion when all is said and done.
Not blaming you for that. It’s just how it works.
And then the project itself doesn’t work.
It may here.
I’m a little jaded on the large solar and wind efforts. They don’t seem to work out. If that’s the case, why involve them here?
Maybe they’re good for this sort of project.
We have been doingv that in MA since I was in grade school. I imagine it is a bigger deal, but the concept has been around for ages.
If the power to pump the water up/out comes from renewable, I guess that is kind of cool.
I think the part people are missing is that the solar and wind power generation would be captured to run the pumps. So the power from the dam will be increased, but the power from the dam will be conserved.
Not perpetual motion at all (for those in the comments).
Doesn't work with solar power very well.
Don’t they realize that it will take more power to pump the water uphill than it will produce? There is no 100% energy conversion. It all comes with a loss!
I smell major boondoggle and theft of working Citizens’ money. ANYTHING to help the solar industry is a boondoggle...anything.
Sounds like somebody is confused with the laws of Thermodynamics.
A battery in each home would store the power more efficiently than pumping tons of water uphill. Yes, battery storage of that capacity is still horribly expensive. But it gets a little better & a little better each year and, in my opinion, is the lesser evil contrasted with pumping water uphill.
Depends on how you look...naked eye or technology assisted. With technology assistance we can probably "see" the individual beavers, even inside their beaver lodges.
I think the Oroville Dam in Northern California which is an earth filled am largest one of the country does this process runs water out then pumps it back into the lake behind the dam not quite sure about that but I think I read it somewhere
A side note. I look at putting up solar panels every few years. I live in Alabama with the back of my house facing the south (more sun exposure) and no neighbors in sight in the back because of a thick wooded area, and the trees far enough from my house that I don’t even have to clean out my gutters. In other words, I’m in a perfect spot for solar power. And we’re financially set enough where we could put panels on the entire back half of my roof if we wanted.
Yet every time I research the costs for parts and installation vs. energy saved (using their optimum numbers) it’ll take about 15 years to recoup the cost, whether it’s just one panel or 20 panels. Nope. Not for me. Maybe one day.
And how much of the water is lost to evaporation?
Give up. They don’t understand that you can’t get something for nothing, *you can’t even break even*.
bullshit.
Accurate. This is a foolish pipe dream
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