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February 7, 2012

Can the NW store energy underground?

  • Researchers here are exploring ways to store excess wind and hydro energy as compressed air and water in the underground basalt formations.
    • By ERIC FLORIP
    The Columbian

    VANCOUVER — Think of it as a giant energy bank. Withdraw when you need it; deposit when you don't.

    The concept has been used before, most notably in the natural gas storage facilities that are common across the country. But a group of researchers led by the Richland-based Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Bonneville Power Administration are exploring whether that idea can be put to use in a different form. The goal: storing excess energy in the form of compressed air and water in the Northwest's expansive, porous underground basalt formations.


     
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