True Energy Sustainability, the tricky problem of energy storage

[icehorse]

This is a sort-of follow up to the thread on decentralized wind and solar power.

For the sake of discussion, let's assume:

- the grid is down for a couple of weeks
- you are generating some energy via wind / solar / micro-hydro...

How do you store this energy? Current battery technology is bad for the environment. There are a couple of ideas, all of which have issues:

- sand batteries - huge, good for thermal energy, not so great to convert to electricity
- flywheels - high precision is necessary, not a low-tech option, I think
- hydro storage = the so-called "two-pond" approach. Probably needs massive amounts of water to be useful.
- giant cuckoo clock approach - some experiments have been done using train cars acting like cuckoo clocks on the side of hills.
- other ideas around raising and lowering really heavy things

Other ideas? Maybe batteries made out of eco-friendly materials, even if they're far less efficient?

 

[Quintessence]

Use less energy.

This is sort of the elephant in the room that isn't discussed enough because domesticated humans are too attached to their technological crutches to consider otherwise. Humans use and consume too much energy, full stop. For the overwhelming majority of human history, the species did not consume at anywhere near present rates. Consuming at present rates has induced a sixth mass extinction event. Displacing the consumption to "sustainable" sources will not necessarily change this self-inflicted ecocide.

Use less energy. Make do with less. Just stop. And plan for that. The more needlessly complicated the technological crutches are, the more complicated humanity makes it to just stop. Go simple, use less.

 

[icehorse]

Use less energy.

This is sort of the elephant in the room that isn't discussed enough because domesticated humans are too attached to their technological crutches to consider otherwise. Humans use and consume too much energy, full stop. For the overwhelming majority of human history, the species did not consume at anywhere near present rates. Consuming at present rates has induced a sixth mass extinction event. Displacing the consumption to "sustainable" sources will not necessarily change this self-inflicted ecocide.

Use less energy. Make do with less. Just stop. And plan for that. The more needlessly complicated the technological crutches are, the more complicated humanity makes it to just stop. Go simple, use less.

I could not AGREE more!

So let's say we're using 20% or our current consumption. I'd still like to know how to store a little energy - locally - without using batteries that rely on toxic materials like lithium.

And also YES to avoiding the needlessly complicated!