×

Old mine could become giant battery

Whether it’s now or 100 years ago, engineering marvels are always pretty cool.

The one we’re thinking of is, on one hand, new and fascinating; on the other, one wonders why it took so long.

This innovation is taking place in an old iron ore mine in the eastern Adirondacks, in the appropriately named Mineville. Over the decades since the mine was last used, its shafts have become flooded with millions of gallons of water, but an ambitious group of engineers has a plan to use that water to generate electricity.

They would pump it higher into the shafts, hold it there until needed and then let it flow down over 100 hydroelectric turbines that would crank out wattage — then pump the water back up and do it over and over again.

The plan is to use this in conjunction with renewable wind and solar power projects. Solar arrays do not generate power when the sun is not shining. Ditto for wind turbines when the air is calm. Therefore, neither type of generating facility, on its own, is reliable for peak load periods when utilities need certain amounts of power to meet demand.

Think of the mine as a gigantic battery, or a hydroelectric dam on a river that only runs when you want it to. During times when demand for electricity is low, use a little of that solar and/or wind power to pump the water up high in the mine. Then when demand is high and the sun and wind aren’t cutting it, let the water rip.

It’s clean, renewable, safe (unless someone falls into the mine and drowns, but that’s the case now) and wouldn’t change the landscape the way wind turbines and solar panels do.

This kind of system is called “pumped storage,” and Mineville isn’t the only place where it’s being considered. In Montana, a company has been granted a license to construct a $1 billion electric energy project. Absaroka Energy of Bozeman, Montana, plans to build a 400-megawatt pumped storage facility. If completed, it would provide a necessary adjunct to the scores of solar and wind energy projects on which the federal government has subsidized to the tune of billions of dollars during the past few years.

President Barack Obama’s administration has been generous with federal money for wind farms and solar arrays, and we’re glad the private sector is stepping up to develop the pumped storage facilities that complement them. Whether or not you like solar and wind power, they’re here to stay, and they’re an important part of our nation’s increasing energy independence, as well as safety and cleanliness. Merging them with a new take on hydro power makes sense.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.75/week.

Subscribe Today