How to store wind energy? Compress air!

when i read the tilte - i stared to imagine ( without reading :-| , i need to stop that) that the wind energy will be converted to mechanical and then to electrical and stored :-|, this method looks more simpler 😁

Nice read!!! These things need a tough storage containers and should be devoid of flaws like even a small pore will burst like anything right???

praveenscienceNice read!!! These things need a tough storage containers and should be devoid of flaws like even a small pore will burst like anything right???

Not quite. A small pore is rather like a leak of current in a circuit. You only lose a little power. There have been speculations earlier of building a sort of underground cave for storage. If we can line such a structure with reinforced, prestressed concrete and give an impervious layer of a suitable polymeric coating, we can store the compressed air underground, where the weight of the earth above will keep things safe. There will be no hazard.

bioramaniNot quite. A small pore is rather like a leak of current in a circuit. You only lose a little power. There have been speculations earlier of building a sort of underground cave for storage. If we can line such a structure with reinforced, prestressed concrete and give an impervious layer of a suitable polymeric coating, we can store the compressed air underground, where the weight of the earth above will keep things safe. There will be no hazard.

Can this be useful for domestic power? I mean, having a plant nearby our houses, which powers about a colony??? Possible right?

praveenscienceCan this be useful for domestic power? I mean, having a plant nearby our houses, which powers about a colony??? Possible right?

You are right. However, If you are in an area where grid power is available, it may be cheaper to use the wind power whenever available directly converted to electricity and switch to the Electricity Board power when the wind power decreases.
You may have other interesting possibilities for use in a colony. The compressed air can directly run machinery for stationary services like grinding flour (மாவு மில்), laundrettes. I am sure that you can come up with many more.

Nice!! This is the most easiest method 😀

There are another two ways to use the wind power.

1.Using wind power to heat the salt.The salt retains the heat for a long time.This heat is used to generate electricity when the wind power decreases.

2.Using wind power,pump the water up to the elevated reservior.when there is no wind,the water is released and the gravity on the water turn the turbines to produce electricity.

praveena211Using wind power to heat the salt.The salt retains the heat for a long time.This heat is used to generate electricity when the wind power decreases.

Thermodynamically, mechanical and electrical energies are the highest available, while heat is the lowest. Melting a salt like NaNO3 and using the latent heat of fusion later is workable, however, it is very inefficient. An interesting variant was developed in the early 1970s at MIT. They diectly used concentrated solar heat to melt NaNO3 enclosed in an iron pot and used this pot as a hot plate. The efficiencies were quite good since there was no transformation of energies.

Bioramani