GAS-L: Energy storeage - any solutions?

[David Reynolds-Lacey <d.rl@virgin.net>]

Dear all,

When ever I talk about sustainable energy solutions to would-be 
interested parties a question that commonly arises is "what do you do 
with surplus "energy" that you produce at times when it is not needed?"  
In my case, my primary use for the biomass (wood chip) energy is to 
produce charcoal in a retort, using some of the resulting heat for 
drying of  wood and the woodchip for the process itself, however there 
will still be a considerable amount of surplus heat. There is also the 
gas from the char load that will be used for electricity generation, it 
would seem that storage of the gas is not practical so I will have to 
run the generator all of the time that I am making the char.
 
Is it best that we store it as heat in say, water or firebricks for 
example - any other ideas? Could I store enough "dry" heat to produce 
steam for later electricity production?
Is it better to store it as electricity in batteries? if so what type of 
batteries would be best to use? what would be the life expectancy of the 
batteries?

I would be interested to hear of any other energy storage solutions.


Regards,

David


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