On: The case for flywheel storage in the Philippines

[concordDance]

You're forgetting compressed air storage in caves, which is the one you want for the weeks times scale if you want to go 90% renewables.

[bertil → concordDance]

I didn’t know how fast it is. I assumed faster than water, but I couldn’t find any reference.

[amanaplanacanal → concordDance]

I’ve also read (somewhere) about pumping air into underwater bladders. Sort of a reversed pumped hydro.

[nine_k → concordDance]

How about leaks and thermal losses?

[ben_w → nine_k]

Renewables are so cheap that you need ridiculously large losses before needing to care very much.

My personal preference is a global HVDC power grid, which would be fine from a technical point of view even with current standard cables. (There are non-technical problems, but 60% resistive losses are genuinely ignorable given how cheap optimal PV is).

I have not looked into pressurised air storage, but I can easily believe it’s also something where the losses, whatever they are, are just not a big deal any more.