A post published today on CleanTechnica.com compares the role of the transcontinental railroad in the success of coal-generated power to the role of storage in the eventual success of wind power. The post points out that without a continuous supply of fuel delivered via rail, coal-powered plants would not be able to function as a reliable source of base-load electricity. The railroad industry "has been worth trillions to the coal industry", the author states. "Generations invested in and grew rich from making coal into base-load power."
"Trillions will be made in energy storage making wind and solar into base-load power," the post concludes. "New techniques for storage will build the industries that will be the investment booms of tomorrow."
To date, there has been little discussion of wind energy storage in North Dakota. Instead, most of the discussion emphasizes the need for expanded infrastructure to carry the energy to distant markets. The only storage project made public recently has been the plan to store excess wind energy as compressed air in Burke County salt mine caverns.
That plan was announced in early February by Colorado-based Dakota Salts. An update relating to a feasibility study was issued in mid-February. Since then nothing more has been made public about the status of the project. Presumably, the company is waiting for economic conditions to improve in order to allow the construction of the proposed Hartland Wind Farm near the proposed Burke County salt mine site. For more on Dakota Salts, click here.
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