STORING WIND AND GEOTHERMAL

Too Much Wind Energy? Save it Underground in Volcanic Rock Reservoirs

Josie Garthwaite, July 1, 2013 (National Geographic)

“Gusting winds and swelling rivers bless the U.S. Pacific Northwest with an abundance of renewable energy resources in the spring and early summer…[T]he Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), a federal utility, has forced wind farm owners to curb their output to keep electricity generation in balance with the rise and fall of demand on the grid…Now a new solution for the region's seasonal energy glut is on the table. Recent research from scientists at BPA and the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory suggests porous rocks deep in the Earth could store the wind's intermittent power and make it possible to deploy renewable energy on command…” click here for more

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