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.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @09:41PM (2 children)
Why use a train on a slope rather than just pulling the weight directly upward with a winch?
- Much less land needed
- Motor/generator no longer on a mobile platform (with all the issues that entails)
(Score: 2) by jimtheowl on Wednesday July 04 2018, @05:20AM (1 child)
I didn't read TFA, but I'm guessing that a train on a slope might be a good niche solution for the side of a mountain in a remote area (where building a damn is not a reasonable option).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 04 2018, @10:20AM
Even in that case, having a fixed motor uphill drawing a mass up along the rails would be a better idea.