h a l f b a k e r yProfessional croissant on closed course. Do not attempt.
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Use solar and wind energy to haul weight in a rope and then let it down to retrieve the energy as needed.
An oil-heating solar collector sends the hot oil into a radiator in a hot air or hot gas balloon. The balloon hauls a rope creating potential energy to be converted into mechanical or electric
energy as needed. At high heights, the tethered balloon gets extra lift from the wind.
The balloon may be raised by boiling a liquid into a lighter-than-air gas or electrolyzing water or other liquids that produce lighter-than-air gases.
The idea here is to get the energy from the rewinding collapsing rope, not from the tag on the rope being pulled out by the kite and balloon.
Energy from solar balloons
https://www.science...i/S0038092X10000289
Very detailed examination of the concept [a1, Feb 25 2024]
[link]
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// The idea here is to get the energy from the rewinding collapsing rope, not from the tag on the rope being pulled out by the kite and balloon // |
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I think this is backwards. If you could roll a stone up to the top of a hill and let it rest, you're storing potential energy (really, the effort of rolling it uphill) at no extra cost. But to rely on some ongoing energy input - wind or solar - to hold it up in the sky in addition to what it took to raise it originally, you're wasting most of it. |
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Solar balloons that generate (but not store) energy have already been proposed. And they would work exactly the opposite from how you've described - they produce energy by activating a generator during the ascent of the balloon. The hot air is discharged when the balloon reaches a predefined maximum height, and it takes much less energy to reel them back in. |
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If you altered this to be just a helium balloon reeled in to store energy then you have something, the reverse of gravity storage. The wind would complicate the issue, possibly helping or hurting depending on when it occured. i.e. you want it windy when discharging and still when charging. It does solve the basic problem of gravity storage as free space above one's head is usually available whereas towers are expensive. |
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