Hollow Spheres Store Excess Offshore Turbine Power

Hollow Spheres Store Excess Offshore Turbine Power
May-01-13
A new offshore wind turbine concept uses huge concrete spheres to store energy for use during times of no wind.

The spheres, which would weigh thousands of tons each, would serve as anchors for the turbines while also providing the means of storing excess power. Whenever the turbines generate more power than is needed, the extra energy would be sent to power a pump that would pump seawater from the huge, hollow sphere. When the wind dies down and power is needed, the water would be let to flow back into the sphere, turning a turbine attached to a generator along the way.

The system would be connected to the grid, allowing the spheres to store energy from other sources such as shore-based solar arrays or base-load power plants.

More Info about this Invention:

[PHYS.ORG]
[MIT]
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