Using Flywheels to Meet Peak Power Grid Demands 325
hackertourist writes "A novel type of electricity storage was recently added to the New York power grid. The unit, supplied by Beacon Power, uses flywheels to store energy. This system is intended to replace gas turbines in supplying short-term peaks in power demand (also known as frequency regulation). It can supply up to 20 MW, using 200 flywheels."
If you can't afford a 200-flywheel system, you can always get a racetrack-ready Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, which has a single energy-storage flywheel that can give you a 160 HP burst of power when you need a little extra oomph.
Re:and if you use maglev bearings (Score:3, Funny)
Re:New tech? (Score:5, Funny)
..but there was a lot of NIMBY paranoia about flywheels breaking loose and roaming the countryside.
God, am I the only one who wants to live in a world where this actually happens and you see a bunch of ME's from the power plant with yellow hard hats on sprinting after it yelling "Shit-shit-shit-SHIT! -*crushes car* - SORRY! - shit-shit-shit-shit!"