Bent crude tops 60 a barrel

Dutch_12078 wrote:

pnichols wrote:

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Until sundown when solar panels output is 0.00000%

And all the EV's get plugged in.

But, but, but .... we have a huge reservoir close by that gets filled by electric (from solar panels?) pumps during the day and then supplies electricity at night by spinning the pump motors in reverse while emptying.

As an unofficial description of the reservoir, I quess it could be called "a water battery". ;)

IMHO, we need these kind of green to make, maintain, and operate batteries all over the U.S. wherever there are solar farms and a valley close by with two narrow enough parts to be dammed up. It couldn't be simpler (oops ... I forgot about politics).

Yep, "pumped storage" is an old technology, although combining it with solar for the pumps is new. The older method uses excess river fed hydro power to refill a reservoir during the day that feeds additional generators to boost power availability in the peak evening hours. It's traditional use has been in areas that use demand metering where the higher electric prices in the evening offset the additional operating costs.