Water-Based Battery Stores Solar and Wind Energy

Wind and solar energy generation creates challenges, since the Sun only shines by day, and sometimes the wind doesn't blow. Another variability is surges of demand on the grid. On a hot day when air conditioning is in use, utilities must have load-balancing strategies to meet peak demand. A water-based battery was developed that could provide a cheap way to store wind or solar energy generated when the Sun is shining and wind is blowing so it can be fed back into the electric grid and be redistributed when demand is high.