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I guess I miss the main point of this system, how does it generate net electricity? I assume by dropping a weight, but doesn’t consume the equivalent energy bring it back up ? Or does the methane push it up
Great idea! You guys need to consider making scalable versions of this that can be built into buildings so they can mechanically store energy through the day. It’s a good match for solar rooftop! Could be a market beyond just old oil wells. Could one day become building code for tall buildings.
This was an inspiring story. Wasn’t really about the tech at all as the story focused on the journey of two sets of innovation entrepreneurs, each in their own phase of business innovation - one early, one later. The combination of both seemed to have given each a purpose.
Gravity storage has two limitations. The efficiency of the motor lifting the weight, water,, and the efficiency of the generator to produce electricity. 75% efficiency for either is generous. Keep in mind,, the actual motor is 75% efficient,, that does not include the mechanical efficiency of the reel, cable, bearings, blocks, sheaves, etc. So too the power goes through step down transformers and then step up transformers when taking grid power or putting it back. So take 100 watts of power from the grid and you finish with 75 watts of potential once the weight is raised. Drop it and you get back 75% of 75 watts = 56 watts. now subtract from that the transformer steps up and down , 2 to 5% for each step, mechanical losses, friction, etc Put 100 watts in and you are going to get a usable approx 46 watts back. The one golden aspect of pumped storage,, power exactly when you want it. And no degradation of the stored power,,, use it today or use it a year from now. Mile deep well casings,, how many have refilled with oil or water?
I like your take on it with at least estimated numbers. It would be prudent to put solar panels on the rigs and slowly wind the weight up during the day using just solar power. The video was posted 2 years ago, and this is the first I’ve heard of it. They should have some real world experience by now, good or bad.
@@woods-garage I learned (the hard way) that I ain't so smart. So you can laugh with me, (at me). Years ago I was challenged to design an ultra energy efficient home for New Mexico. Lotsa Michigan experience,, so New Mexico was a welcome challenge. (Hmm passive solar, super insulated,, pre computer for me,, a week's worth of paper and pencil. Time spent at the University of Michigan library for climate research,, yada, yada, I finally arrived at an over hang length, with air vent, 9 inches of masonry exterior, 6 inch fiberglass interior, percentage of windows,,, Yeah, yeah,, and then it whacked right between the eyes, What are the dimensions of an adobe brick? uh,, 9 inches,, and The logs that stick out of the roof in an adobe dwelling? Vigas. And they are supposed to stick out far enough to shade the wall during the summer day,, with a space to allow the wall to cool convectively at night. I found out I wasn't so smart. The Ancient ones, the Anasazi, the Navajo, the Aztec,, had been doing itt for 2,000 years. I don't think they have millions of wells available to them. Every last one of those wells has been sitting for 2 years, 20 years, 50 or 100 years,, They have refilled (oil or water), the steel casings have rusted through and collapsed. I do not think they can come even to an efficiency of 46% More likely 20% plus or minus. The are climbing a very steep hill. We currently pump water for energy storage,, and the best idea to float along is use the excess power in and around Las Vegas to pump Colorado River water back up hill into Lake Mead. The generators already exist. If you have a wind turbine,, don't even use the step of electrical generation. Pump it directly, mechanically, back up into Lake Mead.
What’s the net energy output per well (I.e., energy generated during the drop minus energy used to lift the total weight to the surface, minus cost of investment allocated per total round trip?)? Cool idea, but I’d have to see the total feasibility study and ROI calculations to make an informed decision. Why? Testing on a water well is one thing compared to O&G wells. O&G wells not producing and abandoned, are plugged…so, you’d have to get permits (good luck in California, I’d start in Texas where it’d be more reasonable). drill out the plug/cement in the casing bore to make this work, which is VERY expensive, plus remove junk in the well and test the integrity of the well casing and cement bond between the open hole and casing (needed to isolate oil/gas zones and protect fresh water zones). The energy required to spool a wireline cable and the tool weight is ENORMOUS. Wireline trucks (e.g., Schlumberger or Halliburton cased hole well logging units) use diesel engines to drive powerful hydraulic spools capable of hoisting tons of weight. You’d have to control the weight and generator “brake” gearing during the drop (or hydraulic brakes) to release in a controlled manner as the total weight supported increases (as the cable unspools).
No mention of Cost per Watt hour, Watt hour storage per well, Storage efficiency, maintenance cost, cost to connect to the grid or any other relevant facts! More farts and ferry dust! If you want a real solution, start building nuclear plants!
This is totally awesome, because I thought about it first, about two years after you did😊 One problem I invisioned is the presence of volatile gases and how to remediate that issue. If there was an ignition below your weight your weight that would be a big problem.
Leaking methane wells should be used to power motors that raise the weight up the hole. Now, instead of a battery, its a on-demand generator. Great idea. Not so good of a documentary.
This is the biggest WIN WIN WIN I’ve ever seen. Absolute genius and simplicity. So many inventors will be scratching their heads wondering why they didn’t think of it!!!!!
Sorry but you don't get it. There are plenty of times when the grid has a surplus. That's when the weight is brought to the surface. Then when the grid has a deficit, that's when the weight is utilized to generate energy. We already do that all over America.
Not true, if it was true about the water in southern Arizona they wouldn’t be growing thousands of acres of Pima cotton fields just outside of Tucson. Cotton is the worst type of crop for the desert because of its tremendous water consumption. Everything gets so exaggerated in these kinds of stories for sensation. The media always needs a tragic story. An honest story would be just as interesting.
Is there any redundancy in the system? Such as a sprocket/latch mechanism in case the cable breaks. So the GPE weight is not lost. Also, since the wells are quite deep could you use saltwater and pump it back and forth with out increasing the surrounding soil Ph. A different version of pumped hydro. It might be a bit more upfront cost but it has less moving parts.
Great idea! How much electricity is discharged in one event? How do you remove the existing methane, methane released during electricity production, and how costly is it? How difficult is it to connect the well to the grid? How many years does it take to break even vs the life expectancy of the equipment/land lease costs?
People need to stop doing meaningless jobs, and go back to growing food, but without control of our currency, all attempts at freedom are futile. Plus, we have to deal with the D3Ws being used to create "fires."
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