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Renewable Energy in South Africa
Types of Energy Storage
View of Energy Storage Types
Storage Type Group
Storage Type
Explanation
Status
Typical use
Comments
Wikipedia link
Chemical Battery (E.g. Lithium)
1
Lithium Battery
Lithium is widely used in batteries, ranging from cell phones to motor vehicles to industrial scale commercial battery operations
Full Production
Fast response, (relatively) short duration.
peaker plants.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Cost
Gravity
3
Pumped Storage Hydro
Typical: A dam is built in a river. When the water flows through turbines down river, it generates electricity.
By pumping water back into the dam from down stream, energy can be stored. The typical solution has been in implementation since 1907.
Variations: The fluid does not have to be water, other fluids work better. The dams do not have to be in a river. All that is needed is two holding areas, with sufficient differences in elevation.
These different variations are in different stages of implementation.
Full Production
Slower response, long duration
Advantages
Disadvantages
Cost
Mines, Mountains and Molehills
There are a large variety of gravity based storage solutions. They involve lifting and lowering heavy weights. These weights take many form, sand, rock, concrete and recycled windmill blades.
The lifting can take the form of free-standing cranes, cranes using old abandoned mine shafts and trains pulling wagons up and down a mountain.
Various
Extreme small - Gravity Light
The gravity light is a product developed to provide light to the approximately 1bn people that do not have access to electricity.
Full Production
Compressed gas
1
Advantages
Disadvantages
Cost
Chemical gas (E.g. Hydrogen)
1
Advantages
Disadvantages
Cost
Electric Vehicles
0
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