" Clearly, Snowy 1 would never be built in today's regulatory conditions. "
Maybe. But so would a whole lot of other things such as above ground power lines, many mines, many of the currently operating power stations etc.
Back to storage. Storage is the key to making renewable energy work. No question about that. While renewable energy is getting cheaper all the time, we still have to time shift that power generation. And large flexible storage is the only solution.
However, just as Snowy 1 couldn't have been built in today's conditions, fossil generation is approaching it's use by date. Not just because of emissions and air pollution, but also because fossil fuel is a limited resource that could be utilised better in many other ways.
Further to that, the grid and industry has been built around the nature of fossil generation. That means that industry can be restricted because of that. Renewables plus storage opens up many other opportunities if it is done right.
There is a huge amount of focussed effort going to energy storage these days. Effort that wasn't there a decade ago. Many ideas that have been around for a long time and not progressed and others that haven't. That's not to say there will be a revolutionary discovery tomorrow. More like the existing ideas being developed, modified and enhanced .
Storage will come in many forms and be distributed across the grid similar to renewable generation as opposed to a few big lumbering power stations like we have now.
We have the obvious storage ones like the various pumped hydro schemes that we know about. Many of them will be suitable but they really rely on large excesses of surplus power. The other area that hasn't been exploited yet is the mid sized industrial version. People tend to think of backup as being full grid load for hours or days. The reality is that it will different to that . I'm not sure people are across that concept yet.
Grid sized flow batteries, which are still a bit behind the curve and out of the site of the media will play a big role. There are many different versions but they mostly share common features. They can handle full discharge, perform thousands of cycles, are simple in construction, very, very scaleable, have built in saftey features, few moving parts and in most cases, quite cheap per kwh
.Here's one example you may or may not be aware of.
Similarly, we weren't even looking at hydrogen from renewables on a commercial scale five years ago. Now there are several projects in progress in Australian alone.
As to things like compressed air, they won't be the only solution and they won't be practical in every circumstance. But in some areas they might. Particularly where you have an existing facility such as this.
Thanks for the heads up on fuel vaporisation. I suspected that might have been an issue and I have been experimenting with my own fire pump in that area. I am also pretty familiar with that issue from high under bonnet temps in older cars that I much around with. Not only have I used a heat shield, I have also used a water curtain that seems to work ok.
The lack of oxygen angle comes from examples where people have passed out or died in the proximity of a fire. That said, the idea is not to stay and fight the fire. The idea is to leave and ensure I have a pumping system that will not stop. The system only needs to protect the structure e.g. house of shed.
Ideally I will use both a petrol pump and an electric pump. The reason I started thinking about the electric pump as an option is because of future houses having some kind of battery storage and an ev in the driveway. It seems crazy to have that capability and not utilise it.
But hey, that's the industrial nerd coming out in me.
