A Dutch company Ocean Grazer developed a scalable, reliable, and affordable way to store excessive wind energy that can provide continuous supply of wind power whether the wind is blowing or not.
The technology functions on a principle similar to that of a hydro dam. It involves burying a concrete reservoir holding millions of liters of fresh water in the seabed. When the wind park generates more energy than needed, the excessive energy is used to pump the water from the reservoir into a flexible bladder above.
When energy is required, the bladder releases the water back to the reservoir. The water flow spins turbines that generate electricity and feed it into the grid.
The system is ingenious in its simplicity and almost maintenance free.
If successful, it will produce clean energy whether the wind is blowing or not, thus solving the biggest problem with wind energy: dependability.
Will this be the long-awaited solution to store excess wind energy? What other applications do you envisage? Please let us know in the comments below.