Renewable Energy in South Africa

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Types of Energy Storage

View of Energy Storage Types

View of Energy Storage Types

Storage Type Group

Storage Type

Explanation

Status

Typical use

Comments

Wikipedia link

Chemical Battery (E.g. Lithium)

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

Open

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Gravity

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

Open

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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

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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

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GravityLight - light from the lift of a weight⁠

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Compressed gas

Advantages

Disadvantages

Cost

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Chemical gas (E.g. Hydrogen)

Advantages

Disadvantages

Cost

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Electric Vehicles

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Gallery

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