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Do The Math looks at pumped hydro power. http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/11/pump-up-the-storage/
He has his math; I'll try mine.
( Mercy cut )
Conclusion: I'm not sure power storage is impossible or impractical, but it's at the least epic. Pure iron-based storage for a week is, it's just too expensive. Concrete based is sort of doable, so the dirt and water scheme might be as well. There's also a question of whether we need 1e6 seconds of storage -- though as Murphy points you, you don't need to think of that as a week and a half of no renewable input at all, it could be 3 weeks of 50% sunlight and wind for some reason. And sunlight varies with the year, going down right when heating needs go up -- so a high-latitude solar powered economy could probably be thinking about months of storage, not weeks.
He has his math; I'll try mine.
( Mercy cut )
Conclusion: I'm not sure power storage is impossible or impractical, but it's at the least epic. Pure iron-based storage for a week is, it's just too expensive. Concrete based is sort of doable, so the dirt and water scheme might be as well. There's also a question of whether we need 1e6 seconds of storage -- though as Murphy points you, you don't need to think of that as a week and a half of no renewable input at all, it could be 3 weeks of 50% sunlight and wind for some reason. And sunlight varies with the year, going down right when heating needs go up -- so a high-latitude solar powered economy could probably be thinking about months of storage, not weeks.