Technology

34830 readers

19 users here now

This is the official technology community of Lemmy.ml for all news related to creation and use of technology, and to facilitate civil, meaningful discussion around it.

Ask in DM before posting product reviews or ads. All such posts otherwise are subject to removal.

Rules:

1: All Lemmy rules apply

2: Do not post low effort posts

3: NEVER post naziped*gore stuff

4: Always post article URLs or their archived version URLs as sources, NOT screenshots. Help the blind users.

5: personal rants of Big Tech CEOs like Elon Musk are unwelcome (does not include posts about their companies affecting wide range of people)

6: no advertisement posts unless verified as legitimate and non-exploitative/non-consumerist

7: crypto related posts, unless essential, are disallowed

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

366

Europe’s deepest mine to become giant gravity battery (www.independent.co.uk)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

94 comments fedilink hide all child comments

An abandoned mine in Finland is set to be transformed into a giant battery to store renewable energy during periods of excess production.

The Pyhäsalmi Mine, roughly 450 kilometres north of Helsinki, is Europe’s deepest zinc and copper mine and holds the potential to store up to 2 MW of energy within its 1,400-metre-deep shafts.

The disused mine will be fitted with a gravity battery, which uses excess energy from renewable sources like solar and wind in order to lift a heavy weight. During periods of low production, the weight is released and used to power a turbine as it drops.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 13 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

On-demand (or surge) power generation like this is much different then base power generation like you get from solar, wind or nuclear (or theoretically fusion).

Long story short, any functional power grid needs both because generation has to match demand, and demand is uneven and wonky.

The most common surge power source is small natural gas plants. This is a replacement for those.

It presumes there will be extra electricity.

There's always extra electricity. Eg. Solar generates power during the day, charges this "battery" and then powers lighting at night when demand is higher and people need to be able to see.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

There’s always extra electricity. Eg. Solar generates power during the day, charges this “battery” and then powers lighting at night when demand is higher and people need to be able to see.

And this is only set to become more of an issue. Solar and wind are going to be a larger share of the energy mix, but they will still be unreliable. Energy storage, whether physical or chemical, will need to be part of the solution.