By building kinetic battery towers in our urban reservoirs, the power storage and supply problems of renewable energy can be solved, securing a sustainable future!
For the first time in human history, sustainable energy generation is within reach. Production prices for renewable energy sourced from the sun and wind are reaching price parity with fossil fuels, putting a carbon neutral energy future clearly within sight. However, the feasibility & efficacy of renewable power is currently limited by storage and supply problems with our energy distribution systems.
The discontinuous nature of renewable power sources is stretching the limits of our electrical infrastructure. Intermittent power created by solar and wind energy generation creates inconsistent supply, misaligned to consumer consumption demands (electricity must be used instantly upon generation). As the transition to renewables picks up pace, these problems have resulted in high-profile emergencies in Europe, California & Australia, where sustainable generation had to be immediately shut down to avoid overloading power infrastructure. This supply instability means that carbon-emitting power plants (which can be run on demand) need to stay online as a backup for the uneven renewable supply.
Science shows that large-scale battery storage technology will be crucial to combat the storage and transmission pitfalls of sustainable energy. But conventional lithium-ion batteries are expensive and result in power losses. They also utilise rare earth minerals, which degrade the environment during mining and are subject to geopolitical supply chain issues. Passive kinetic batteries are a tried and tested solution (a pumped storage dam in Virginia has been operational since 1985) which acts in a similar manner to hydroelectric dams, harnessing the power of gravity to store water mass for later conversion into energy using turbine generators.
This concept could be adapted to our power-hungry cities, where land scarcity prevents large hydroelectric storage from being built. By building mega water towers in our urban reservoirs, these kinetic battery towers would solve the storage and supply problems of renewable energy, heralding a sustainable future!
DURING THE DAY: excess renewable electricity from the power grid (produced during peak solar supply) will be used to pump water from drinking water service reservoirs into the kinetic battery towers, saving power that would otherwise be wasted to be redistributed as necessary, balancing the power grid.
A solar photovoltaic energy generating canopy atop the towers would also power the pumps, kinetically storing energy while also reducing evaporative losses of reservoir water.
AT NIGHT: and during peak periods where demand exceeds sustainable energy supply, water will be discharged from the kinetic battery towers, generating renewable electricity to balance consumer demands on the power grid.
This will stabilise the supply of sustainable energy to the power grid, allowing carbon-intensive conventional power generation to be taken permanently offline. Rooftop urban farms will take advantage of the shaded space below rooftop photovoltaic arrays to grow sustainable produce.
This concept has been depicted at MacRitchie Reservoir in urban Singapore, however it could be replicated at service reservoirs across the globe such as the Central Park Reservoir in New York City or in London’s Serpentine Lake. These locations in the heart of cities are centrally located, publicly owned, and contain ample water for use as kinetic energy storage. These battery towers can be built in our power-hungry urban centres, where land scarcity makes pumped water storage within natural land formations unfeasible. Building mega water towers within our urban service reservoirs can enable sustainable energy to succeed!
