this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2026
398 points (97.6% liked)
solarpunk memes
5873 readers
603 users here now
For when you need a laugh!
The definition of a "meme" here is intentionally pretty loose. Images, screenshots, and the like are welcome!
But, keep it lighthearted and/or within our server's ideals.
Posts and comments that are hateful, trolling, inciting, and/or overly negative will be removed at the moderators' discretion.
Please follow all slrpnk.net rules and community guidelines
Have fun!
founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
a giant flywheel for every town!
Pumped Hydro is a pretty safe storage method using preexisting technology if you have hills in the area.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PH0IJ-_qOI
i don't want safe, i want DANGER!
Store it as compared air in steel tanks buried underneath your home. No protective coating.
why not hydrogen?
Already done and he hasn't blown himself up yet.
https://hydrogenhouseproject.org/index.html
sounds like he's not even trying then
Giant flywheels are also safe. Great for smoothing out energy generation from a fickle source as well.
not if you leave them uncovered!
Like any hydroelectrics it has large environment impact and dam failures tend to be the deadliest industrial disasters when they happen. Also most good locations have already been used. You cannot just build it wherever (without insane costs). Pumped hydro is hardly a solution here.
Pumped hydro isn't the same as a hydroelectric dam. Because both reservoirs are engineered and you don't have the concrete wall as the signal point of failure, you don't have the same risks involved. Pump Hydro can be whatever size you want and spread out to distribute the grid load.
Also, are damn failures worse then Climate Change or are they just more dramatic?
Apparently you can do something similar with sand if you live in a desert.
Thermal sand batteries are a thing, I think?
That was some solution talked about on Undecided.
Gravity Batteries? They're much, much easier using water compared to solid masses.
You could store solar energy as heat in sand and use turbines(if you have water) or Sterling Engines(if you don't) to spine a generator. Peltiers are a solid state method to convert heat to electricity, but they aren't very efficient.