Factorio Forums

When I look at thousands and thousands of accumulators at my base, I always remember this solution:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-st ... lectricity

Details: you should be able to build elevated pools of water using huge amount of stone (there is no good "resource" sink for stone anyway).
Then during the day, using excess power of solar panels you should be able to pump the water up in the pool (via existing pumps, for example).
During the night the water should flow back (i.e. down) and generate electricity back (for example, via the same electric pumps, but in special "reverse" mode or special flow generators). Efficiency should be around 80%, or maybe there will be a repeating Tech to raise efficiency from 50 to 90%.

Wikipedia wrote:The main disadvantage of PHS is the specialist nature of the site required, needing both geographical height and water availability.

It takes a lot of stone to build a mountain.

You dont need to build a whole mountain, just a tower.

Water tower
Like a water tower, but we can use something heavier than water, so more energy will be kept there. Could be a great sink of concrete that way.
Electricity --> Potential energy --> Electricity

Ground storage:
You heat up the ground and then take the heat away from it when needed.
Electricity --> Heat --> Erm... IDK

Pressure tankers
Something that is being done now. You build air tanker (something like a silo) and pump it up to 700atm. When needed You release the pressure and through turbine it makes electricity.
(We develop this at work).
Cheap, easy to implement and understandable.
Electricity --> Pressure --> Electricity

Massive flywheel
Have a massive flywheel in vacuum on magnetic hinges (almost no friction) rotate to immense speeds.
Electricity --> Kinetic Eenrgy --> Electri

I need to point to viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5 Electric energy in development proposals.

Dams/Pump storages would work better if there was some kind of terrain changes, especially altitude.

I somehow always missed mountains, hills and plateaus. That the map is completely flat is really boring as it provides no challenge whatsoever. Except lakes maybe, but since you can fill them up they are no real problem anymore either.

DaveMcW wrote:

Wikipedia wrote:The main disadvantage of PHS is the specialist nature of the site required, needing both geographical height and water availability.

It takes a lot of stone to build a mountain.

In real life you just need a small hill that is used to build the upper pool with lots of concrete, and a lake with a flowing small river to be used for low pool (or just make a dam).