Energy researchers at the University of Windsor are getting $112,000 from the province, to continue their work on underwater storage.
Turbulence and Energy Associate Professor Rupp Carriveau says energy from turbines and solar panels, collected during off-peak times, will run an electric air compressor, which will fill balloons at the bottom of Lake Ontario. That air can then be released, as needed, by a valve on shore.
"It's a clean and green energy storage technique, which will facilitate the integration of more renewable resources onto the grid," he explains.
This technology means that the owners of wind or solar farms won't have to throw away energy that's been collected, or sell it at a lower of a price just to get rid of it.
The associate professor and Professor David Ting have been working with Hydrostor on this project since 2010.
Carriveau explains that it started in a pool at the university, and is now being tested just off Toronto Island with the hopes of expanding into the Caribbean. He says researchers in Europe are also taking a look at their project and exploring how similar technology can be applied overseas.
