Maybe it’s because I am a mechanical engineer by training, and I always think in terms of mechanical mechanisms, but whenever I think of storing solar power, I think of a giant flywheel. Spinning and spinning. That’s what you all think of too, right?
Well, it turns out that that’s just not right, and it’s the New York Times that sets me straight. Last week they had a fascinating article that talks about how the new solar utility facilities are using giant tanks of molten SALT to store heat energy generated by thermal solar plants during the day, for use when clouds pass overhead, or at night. Did you even know that salt melts?
These technologies and techniques are truly fascinating because they get one of the obstacles which prevent us from exploiting the almost limitless solar energy that we receive every day.
What about a solar/hydrogen connection. Use solar to split the water molecule and store the resulting hydrogen. Of course the storage of hydrogen still needs to be solved but it seems like the perfect clean energy solution. Water to hydrogen back to water.