It's a nightmare. It is very leak-prone and has a very wide range of concentrations-in-air that will ignite. The energy to ignite it is also much lower than for LNG, for example.
Got an electric car
- Thread starter maxvintage
- Start date
chris m.
Doctor of Teleocity
One great thing about wave energy is that it can generate power at night. Solar only works during the day, and wind can come and go. But wave/current energy can vary differently from wind patterns.
A big downside is that anything put in salt water quickly corrodes and gets bio-fouled. Advanced materials research into things like new ceramic materials, as well as biomimicry of compounds used by marine invertebrates to fend off bio-fouling may be critical. And, of course, doing construction in the ocean and building stuff that can handle the massive forces created by big storms is also a major challenge.
Another big advantage of wave/current energy is that a lot of people live near the coasts, so transmission typically doesn't have to be as far.
OTEC is another cool ocean energy technology. Look it up. It uses the laws of thermodynamics to somehow make energy out of taking advantage of a large temperature gradient between surface and deep water, typically found in tropical locations with deep water close to shore like Hawaii.
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) - TheGreenAge
OTEC takes advantage of the large gradient in water temperatures, found in tropical oceans, to produce 24/7 base load electricity and hydrogen fuel.
www.thegreenage.co.uk
Producing and distributing hydrogen is fundamentally much less efficient that electricity (even if it is produced with clean energy), and the efficiency in the vehicle is also very poor. It's never going to win against BEVs.
billy logan
Tele-Afflicted
wave energy -
??? Couldn't you just swing a lever over from the pier when you dock your dinghy ??? Connect it to your boat; the other end of the lever (past a fulcrum/axle) is a generator; a magnet inside a coil ??? or is it the other way around?
Boat goes up and down ...
??? Or you could gear it to spin ???
(I'm picturing a tough electrical engineering challenge - making the generator's output usable)(maybe at least you could charge a 12volt battery for your accessories or lights)
??? Couldn't you just swing a lever over from the pier when you dock your dinghy ??? Connect it to your boat; the other end of the lever (past a fulcrum/axle) is a generator; a magnet inside a coil ??? or is it the other way around?
Boat goes up and down ...
??? Or you could gear it to spin ???
(I'm picturing a tough electrical engineering challenge - making the generator's output usable)(maybe at least you could charge a 12volt battery for your accessories or lights)
Many of hydrogen's "problems" can be/have been solved. Doing so also "solves" the problem of PV not working at night.
Overbuild PV and use surplus electricity to break water down in component H and O. Release O to atmosphere or save for other uses. Store H produced during the day to generate electricity at night (burn to boil water OR fuel fuel cells.)
No batteries needed. No pumped hydro needed. No nukes needed. Done properly PV can be produced on AGland without destroying ability to grow food.
Of course you can also over produce Windmill Electricity instead of/in addition to PV.
Overbuild PV and use surplus electricity to break water down in component H and O. Release O to atmosphere or save for other uses. Store H produced during the day to generate electricity at night (burn to boil water OR fuel fuel cells.)
No batteries needed. No pumped hydro needed. No nukes needed. Done properly PV can be produced on AGland without destroying ability to grow food.
Of course you can also over produce Windmill Electricity instead of/in addition to PV.
buster poser
Poster Extraordinaire
They need to clean it up first, bit of a misdirection so far. This "hydrogen hub" nonsense in the west is salivated over by our O&G industry... no surprise why that is
Theory Versus Reality: The Dirty Hydrogen Story
Researchers at Cornell and Stanford say the promise of "blue" hydrogen is a very costly lie.
cleantechnica.com
Hydrogen is not a fuel, it's a spectacularly ineffecient battery. You lose more energy converting it to a burnable form than you get out of it, it's Thermodynamics. Anyone touting hydrogen as a fuel failed Physics.
chris m.
Doctor of Teleocity
Sure you could, but unless it’s a ship moving a gigantic lever against significant resistance you’re not going to get much power.
One exciting technology for storing solar or wind power is pumped storage. You pump water uphill with solar power while the sun shines, or wind power when the wind blows, then run the water back downhill through a turbine as needed.
They've been doing like this for years in BC. When electric power is cheaper(*), water is pumped up behind hydroelectric dams. When it's more profitable, the water is run through turbines to general power. Think of the water behind a dam as a big battery.
(*) in your example, this could be solar- or wind- generated, but more generally, whenever it's a good idea to do so.
chris m.
Doctor of Teleocity
Yes, pumped storage has been around for a while. Much cheaper than banks of batteries.
billy logan
Tele-Afflicted
where WILL more clean electricity EVER come from?
Computer rendering of an interesting candidate - cover the canals with solar panels
Link to the article at New Atlas.The next to last paragraph brings up realistic considerations project-nexus-california-canals-photovoltaic-panels
Computer rendering of an interesting candidate - cover the canals with solar panels
Link to the article at New Atlas.The next to last paragraph brings up realistic considerations project-nexus-california-canals-photovoltaic-panels
maxvintage
Poster Extraordinaire
That would reduce evaporation as well I assume.
There was a story in the newspaper today. The Nature Conservancy--which is a private company, not a government entity, has bought six former coal mines in VA, and covered the deforested areas with solar panels, capable of generating "utility level" power.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/clim.../coal-mines-solar-farms-climate-change-video/
The land was not being used, the forest was stripped off: it's not viable for mining anymore and no good for farming, so why not solar? The Nature Conservancy owns 253, 000 acres in SW VA
There was a story in the newspaper today. The Nature Conservancy--which is a private company, not a government entity, has bought six former coal mines in VA, and covered the deforested areas with solar panels, capable of generating "utility level" power.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/clim.../coal-mines-solar-farms-climate-change-video/
The land was not being used, the forest was stripped off: it's not viable for mining anymore and no good for farming, so why not solar? The Nature Conservancy owns 253, 000 acres in SW VA
bgmacaw
Poster Extraordinaire
And heavy duty bladders too, based on the many design meetings I've been in.
I don't get involved in those public facing ones these days, my aging bladder isn't up to the task and I lack the requisite neck tats of a true web designer.
