Comment on Google R&D team's goal: Make renewables cheaper than coal "in a few years"parentComments−bobo88815yUsually a hydro power plant is used as a "battery". When the demand is low, the electricity produced by wind/solar power plants is used to pump the water uphill. When the demand is high, the hydro power plant releases that water to produce energy.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped_hydro−Luyt15yThat works in Norway, but would it work all over the globe?−jbm15yThey do it in Japan, and I think they do it in Quebec. Don't quote me on the second one.They had to have rotating power outages for a week or two in Japan after the earthquake because of the need to replenish those reserves.
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Usually a hydro power plant is used as a "battery". When the demand is low, the electricity produced by wind/solar power plants is used to pump the water uphill. When the demand is high, the hydro power plant releases that water to produce energy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped_hydro
That works in Norway, but would it work all over the globe?
They do it in Japan, and I think they do it in Quebec. Don't quote me on the second one.
They had to have rotating power outages for a week or two in Japan after the earthquake because of the need to replenish those reserves.