Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by takyon on Tuesday July 03 2018, @04:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the all-aboard dept.

A Californian company proposes using weighted electrically-driven rail vehicles on inclines to store energy. At times when the capacity of electricity supply exceeds demand the vehicles would be driven up inclined tracks, and when demand exceeds generation they are allowed to run down, generating electricity as they fall.

This link includes a video that shows a prototype vehicle (which appears to be built on a conventional locomotive chassis), an interview with a promoter, and an animation of a "farm" of these devices. There is a shortage of hard data, such as how much energy could be stored, for how long, and how steep the tracks are, etc., but a quick calculation shows that some thousands of these vehicles would be required for them to be useful. The control panel for this prototype has a power dial that appears to go up to only 20 kW. The promoter in the interview focuses instead on how the construction material can be recycled at end of life.

Motherboard story from 2016 when Advanced Rail Energy Storage (ARES) got approval to build a 50 MW facility in Nevada.


Original Submission #1Original Submission #2

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday July 03 2018, @05:30PM (3 children)

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday July 03 2018, @05:30PM (#702053) Journal

    I love watching the semantics bite the semanticist!

    That's why I never correct others' speeling errors.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday July 03 2018, @06:05PM (2 children)

    by frojack (1554) on Tuesday July 03 2018, @06:05PM (#702077) Journal

    Muphry's law [wikipedia.org] bites all asses sooner or later.

    --
    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @06:32PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @06:32PM (#702094)

      "If you write anything criticizing editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written."

      Nope! If you can withstand the urge to correct people then you are safe.

      Thanks for sharing btw

      • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Tuesday July 03 2018, @07:15PM

        by Immerman (3985) on Tuesday July 03 2018, @07:15PM (#702110)

        Nope. All statements of the form "If [FALSE] then [X]" are logically true. If you withstand the urge to correct people, then their statement fits that form.

        Now, lets see who can find the fault in what I have written. Or have I managed to prove them wrong?