While energy storage is a huge problem wrt renewable energy, I'd really like to see us get better at teasing out the difference between what's needed for a solar panel, wind farm, hydroelectric dam, etc. as distinct from the myriad of ways to store that energy.
Mechanical storage - i.e. pushing loaded freight cars up a hill while the sun is shining and letting their weight pull a chain which turns a crank (like a cuckoo clock) when it's dark out - is not all that common right now, but not completely unheard of. It could grow in popularity as we develop more clever techniques that are more space efficient. Either way, it's only meant to highlight the differences in mechanisms for energy capture (e.g. solar panel, wind turbine) vs energy storage (e.g. batteries).
This article seems to be primarily around materials for energy storage.
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[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 14.7 ms ] threadMechanical storage - i.e. pushing loaded freight cars up a hill while the sun is shining and letting their weight pull a chain which turns a crank (like a cuckoo clock) when it's dark out - is not all that common right now, but not completely unheard of. It could grow in popularity as we develop more clever techniques that are more space efficient. Either way, it's only meant to highlight the differences in mechanisms for energy capture (e.g. solar panel, wind turbine) vs energy storage (e.g. batteries).
This article seems to be primarily around materials for energy storage.