Link: » Storing wind power in cold stores | ZDNet.com.
The distance between "understanding a challenge" and "implementing new technology" is called "problem-solving." Whether the vision is an artistic one, or an abstract one, or a hardcore engineering one - nothing can happen until a creative person can find ways to use tools and techniques to bridge the gap from the current state to the desired state.
Wind power is a recourse we have used for thousands of years. Much of that time, it was simply converted to mechanical work: running a mill, later a pump, etc.
With the discovery of electricity as a creatable and manageable resource - the use of wind's power to generate mechanical motion has been applied to dynamos. But leveling the energy of wind from it's exclusively "as - available" nature - to a more stable and dependable stream of electricity - has been an on-going challenge. Now it appears the Dutch, leading a European consortium, have uncovered a clever, back-handed way to use wind-generated electricity - in conjunction with the existing power grid - to conserve electricity generated by other means, and make maximum use of the wind as a source. One of the interesting challenges is what to do with the power generated by wind during the night - when power consumption is typically very low, and the extra contribution from wind might go to waste.
The really clever thing - this solution leans on a cultural imperative that has been heretofore seen as a drain on power resources, rather than a means to enhance power-use efficiency.
To wit: We must eat, and the way our food distribution systems have evolved - we must have large storehouses kept cold to preserve the food supply during stops in the distribution chain. These sites consume enormous amounts of energy, to operate the refrigeration equipment that keeps temperatures cold. This power consumption is relatively constant. More power is required when the outside temperatures are warm, a little less is required during winter - but the fact is power must be used all the time to maintain a steady unnaturally chilled temperature.
That means that power - from traditional generating sources - must be used at night, as well as during the day. It is one of the few tasks that does, in fact, require prodigious amounts of electricity 24/7. So the proposal here is to use the power generated by wind sources to lower the temprature of cold storage over night. If the temperature is generally maintained at 0 degrees, for example, use the wind sources to lower the temperature over night to -5 degrees.
Then, in the morning, when demand kicks in, traditionally-sourced power can be diverted - for a while - from cold storage to other purposes. That power can be used until the cold storage temp rises 5 degrees to 0. Thus boosting the range of power available for peak demand. And, of course, any wind power generated during those daylight hours can also augment the grid.
So, in a real sense, lowering the temperature in large cold storage facilities can act as a capacitor. Lowering the temperature requires the use of electricity. Allowing the temperature to rise reduces the need for electricity. Using real-time wind power to manipulate and manage those variations represent yet another alternative for providing tools to power providers and managers - at little or no marginal cost in facilities, or any other dimension.
We tend to see solutions to problems in terms of the problem itself. We look for single direct response to change a behavior or a state to improve the result we are getting. Here's the symptom - twist that dial to change the behavior. Some big problems - maybe some little problems - can benefit from a more circuitous view. In this case - the tradional hunt for a solution has sought out batteries to store excess wind energy, capacitors, etc. Something to take the energy produced, turn it to a recognizeable state in which it is held until released.
The Dutch solution is more subtle - discovering that players in the solution might lie far outside the boundaries of usual "electrical" solutions. They recognized that the human need for food, had created an economic chain for supplying that demand, a chain with considerable power requirements and unique characteristics. And they went beyond the idea of simply augmenting the power grid - to - in a real way - partially replacing the grid under key conditions. As a result of this thinking, they have arrived at a truly unique hypothesis, which they will be testing out over the next year or so,
Good for them! Thinking outside the box is one thing. Thinking outside the problem space is quite another. Einstein once said: "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it." Congratulations to these problem solvers who have found a new hilltop on which to stand. May we all join them in finding other solutions soon.
Thanks to Matt Howard for forwarding this item.
