To make solar power viable, we need a solution for overnight energy storage.

Batteries are complicated.

Do you know what isn't? Water go up. stonks-up

    • AmericaDelendaEst [comrade/them]
      ·
      12 hours ago

      you can use saltwater for it though, doesn't need to be fresh water or treated in any way, just a physical medium to make turbine go brrr

      • buckykat [none/use name]
        ·
        12 hours ago

        Machinery and saltwater generally don't mix very well. And you'd still need to make a saltwater lake somewhere uphill.

        • AmericaDelendaEst [comrade/them]
          ·
          11 hours ago

          yeah but in this case it's just a pipe and a turbine it's gotta make move

          And you'd still need to make a saltwater lake somewhere uphill.

          water tanks tho

          • FunkyStuff [he/him]
            ·
            11 hours ago

            Saltwater damages turbine blades very fast. Using saltwater would require some very different engineering for the turbine blades, which might not be worth the benefit of being able to use saltwater.

          • buckykat [none/use name]
            ·
            11 hours ago

            Turbines are precision machines. And if we're talking utility scale installations here, we want an upper reservoir measured in thousands of cubic meters, not liters.

    • TankieTanuki [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      edit-2
      12 hours ago

      For places without water, what's wrong with importing a bunch once? Evaporation suppressors exist to help with hotter climates.

      You're probably right about the hills. Building a water tower that can hold an entire lake seems inefficient.