Quietlife2k's Journal: Offshore Windfarm "Battery" Backup ?

As far as I can see there are two main problems with the current implementations of wind farms.

The first and most obvious is the "bursty" nature of the wind itself. You only get power when the wind blows, and you might not need it at the time - use it or lose it.

Second is the limitations imposed by our current generating technologies - wind turbines are designed to operate within a relatively narrow range of wind speeds. Too low a wind speed generates nothing, and too high a wind speed requires a shutdown of the turbine, also generating nothing.

To solve the first we need the equivalent of a "Battery" backup to even out the supply - allowing us to store the energy until we do need it.

Why "offshore" wind farms ?

Well my "battery" is nothing more than a "big balloon" strapped to the sea bed adjacent to the windmill.

The windmill would be converted into an air pump, this would allow for a more flexible gearbox solution for supporting a more diverse range of wind speeds as an input and compressed air as the output.

The pump pumps air into the "balloon" via a one way inlet valve. The "balloon" is at depth and under high pressure.

A secondary adjustable "outlet" valve leads to a series of turbines designed to generate power as the air is released.

As "battery" designs go the worst that can happen is that the "balloon bursts" and lots of compressed air is released into the sea....

Time for my fellow slashdotters to tear my idea to shreds - it's what the comments are for :-)