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. 
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.
It seems like you'd lose a fair bit of energy from powering the pump and from the turbine not capturing 100% but I don't actually know how it compares to other types of energy storage. To me it seems like you're probably better off heating something up, like turning that pool of water into steam, or finding a material that can absorb a lot of heat but I have no actual data on that.
You're talking about Thermal Storage, indeed a complex and costly field in the research for out-of-optimal conditions for electricity production I.e. nighttime for solar power
I know that's a thing I just don't know how it compares to what OP is talking about
Turbines are extremely efficient (close to 100%), and almost all large scale power sources use them already (nuclear, hydro). Powering the pump isn't "lost" energy, it's the energy transformed from solar into potential energy from pumping.
Of course not all of the energy used to power the pump is lost (that's the whole idea) but there is still some energy loss. Maybe it's only a small amount like you say with the turbine but that's what I was referring to.
Yeah, I see what you mean.