[Imc-makerspace] Greener (And longer-lasting) Energy Storage

[Stewart Dickson]

Make a Wind Generator — DIY How-to from Make: Projects
http://makeprojects.com/Project/Make-a-Wind-Generator/9/1#s55
Calls for battery storage and includes no DC-AC inverter.
Batteries are expensive, chemical and only last 10 years.
Take a look at this:
http://www.vyconenergy.com/pages/subpages/pr/pr_110601.htm
> "We have two battery-based UPSs that we've had for almost twelve
> years. While the UPSs themselves have been reliable, we've experienced
> three failures of the batteries. We do preventive maintenance every
> quarter as the factory recommends and still we weren't able to avoid
> battery failures,"
http://www.vyconenergy.com/pages/flywheeltech.htm  -- Mag-Lev rotor 
bearings!  I remember seeing articles in Popular Science about Flywheels 
around 1980.   Mag-Lev didn't exist then, I think.
> By removing UPS batteries from the power infrastructure, downtime,
> frequent battery maintenance, replacement and expensive cooling of the
> batteries have been eliminated for the next 20 years – the rated
> lifetime of the flywheels.
Doubles the lifetime from 10 to 20 years.  Don't know how much they cost 
initially.