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Non-Tech : Alternative energy

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To: Eric who wrote (7906)	4/21/2010 3:09:07 PM
From: Jim S	Read Replies (1) of 16955

"The mechanical efficiency ... Electric efficiency of the generator or alternator..." Pardon me for going off on a bit of a tangent here, but the talk of efficiency gives me a bit of a shoehorn for something I've been wondering about. As has been discussed here, storage for wind energy is a major problem during times when they aren't producing. Compressed air or water pumped to higher elevations have been offered as energy storage possibilities. Since it is really inefficient to use electricity to operate a compressor or pump (due to the losses in both the generator and the motor), why don't wind units directly drive the compressor or pumps? While I can see how the plumbing up to the driving blades would cause some real headaches due to the length and vibration, it still seems more practical to me to to convert the rotary energy of the blades into the energy used for storage. What's the thinking on this?

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