Most recent new coal-fired power plant in the US

[Dewey_Finn]

@dtilque

Not right now, no. As you say, it’s mostly natural gas that’s doing that. This will likely change in the future. While what you say about the inconsistency of wind and solar is true, that can be ameliorated by large batteries, such as the Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia. There are other large battery projects in South Australia going forward, as well as others in various parts of the world. Some utilities in the US are looking into this as well. In New Mexico, for example.

There’s a proposal to use Hoover Dam for energy storage. When solar and wind power produce excess electricity, a pump can be used to push water to the top of the reservoir behind the dam and when demand is high, water is let out of the reservoir (which powers turbines). There are, of course, other places where differences in elevation are used to store energy.

[am77494]

@Dewey_Finn

There’s a proposal to use Hoover Dam for energy storage. When solar and wind power produce excess electricity, a pump can be used to push water to the top of the reservoir behind the dam and when demand is high, water is let out of the reservoir (which powers turbines). There are, of course, other places where differences in elevation are used to store energy.

From your own link (Boliding Mine) - "“Any idea like this has to pass much more than engineering feasibility,” Peter Gleick, a co-founder of the Pacific Institute, a think tank in Oakland, Calif., and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, internationally known for his work on climate issues. ** “It has to be environmentally, politically and economically vetted, and that’s likely to prove to be the real problem.”**

I smell government subsidies because for $3 Billion, you can have a nice combined cycle natural gas plan with more power.

[Chronos]

Where would you get the water that you’re pumping to the top? The bottom has a river, not a reservoir, and the river is fed by the water that you’re allowing through the dam in the first place. If you’re going to let the water flow through the turbines and then pump it back to the top, you’d be much better off just not flowing it through to begin with.

[am77494]

@Chronos

Where would you get the water that you’re pumping to the top? The bottom has a river, not a reservoir, and the river is fed by the water that you’re allowing through the dam in the first place. If you’re going to let the water flow through the turbines and then pump it back to the top, you’d be much better off just not flowing it through to begin with.

I think they will make some sort of reservoir downstream. Currently Hoover dam has a capacity factor of about 23 % (i.e. it is only working at fully capacity 3 months in a year ) - so it has potential to be used as a pumped storage station. Incidentally the US has the world’s largest pumped power storage plant Bath County Pumped Storage Station - Wikipedia.
The bigger question however is not - can we ? but Should we ?

[Stranger_On_A_Train]

The idea is to take excess power (from solar, wind, or another source) and pump water from a reservoir below, thereby storing ot as gravitational potential enegy that can be released to meet demand later. There are many such schemes for using elevated water and pressurized cavities, and because of the scale the inefficiencies are reduced to pretty close to the thermodynamic minimum possible. The problem is that there are relatively few facilities that exist which can be easily adapted to large scale storage of this kind, and because od the scale there are large capital investments in construction costs and materials. Also, structures like dams can fail catastrophically if not well maintained, and repeatedly pressurizing unlined natural reservoirs can cause seismic shifts from fissures and settling. So storing energy—even overnight—is not a simple task at these scales.

Stranger