Re: Solar Power can now be stored?

"Elliot Richmond" <xmrichmond@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:93uh945pa0u55nh6ebaqn6nr9d8m7ujdp7@xxxxxxxxxx
On Tue, 5 Aug 2008 16:56:36 -0700, "Nate"
<nsaptaemcscpnanm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html

Seems that MIT found a very simple solution that makes solar power viable.
I don't understand any of it. Maybe Neon John can tell us if it works as
easily as they make it sound in this article.

Nate

I'm not Neon John but I will have a go.

1. The article is not very well written and contains some misleading
statements.

2. There is nothing new about using solar energy to perform
electrolysis and then using the hydrogen to power a fuel cell. I
mentioned this possibility to my astronomy students just last night
when we were comparing the solar energy available at the top of
Earth's atmosphere to global energy consumption.

3. What does seem to be new is the catalysts on the electrodes.
Normally, water would need some dissolved ions to make electrolysis
go. Unlike what the article suggests, the ions can come from an acid,
base, or salt. All of these are somewhat corrosive.

4. What is not new is that fuel cells big enough to power houses are
still hugely expensive. This will limit the practical value of this
discovery, but progress is being made to lower the cost.

Also, I find the connection to photosynthesis somewhat tenuous. Maybe
they were just searching for an analogy.

Anyway, there you go. No help, I'm sure.



Elliot Richmond
Itinerant astronomy teacher

I'm not sure, even with newly discovered catalysts, it will be cost effective. That's what happens when scientists get all excited before talking to an engineer.

Some basic questions.

1. How is the hydrogen to be stored? Under pressure? If so, that takes energy to compress.
2. Do we store the oxygen or vent it? If stored, the same question as 1 above.
3. Today it costs about $30K to install enough photovoltaics to power a house MINUS air conditioning. What's the pay back period?

Dave Thompson

.

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