Energy Conservation's Got A Brand New Bag

Seamus Garvey is a research scientist who thinks he can bag wind power and stash it undersea. Greek mythology says he's onto something as wind god Aeolus always shown carrying the four winds in four bags.

For one maverick scientist, the solution to wind energy storage is already in the bag. And now he has the fat research grant to prove it's more than a lot of hot air. The University of Nottingham's Seamus Garvey thinks the real challenge involved with natural energy isn't generating the stuff but hanging on to it. For the last decade, he's been looking into ways to "store the wind" and now believes the future of energy is storing it as compressed air in giant bags under the sea. This week, Garvey joined the growing ranks of scientists and visionaries whose ideas, once thought impractical as a condom factory in Kabul, are now being embraced and funded as venture capitalists look to capitalise on the burgeoning "green" movement. In Professor Garvey's case,his partner is major power player E.ON, which has invested 300,000 euros (£236,000) towards building two prototypes - the first on land, then an underwater version powered by waves. The money's a sign he's being taken seriously and a sign of vindication for his long held theories. Garvey told the BBC : " I don't believe we be forced to "use it or lose it" when conditions are best. "We will have times (as wind power becomes more common) when the amount of electricity generated by the wind is more than the total demand for the whole country... then you have to store it or waste it. I feel we can do something about that". Garvey believes the industry knowledge is now at a level where the storage option is much more viable, a big consideration in attracting long term investment. In Garvey case, the hook is that his wind storage technology, if it works, is easily and cheaply adapted to other natural energy sources, such as waves and tidal power. "We will have times (as wind power becomes more common) when the amount of electricity generated by the wind is more than the total demand for the whole country... then you have to store it or waste it." Energy would instead be used to compress and pump air into underwater bags, anchored to the seabed. When energy demand is highest, the air would be released through a turbine, converting it to electricity. Garvey's process jumps off from older, low tech methods of storing energy, such as in disused mines. But doing it undersea in flexible containers dubbed "energy Bags' is thought to be cheaper and lees environmentally taxing. An obviously elated Garvey added:" We have to overcome the instinct that this idea is too simple to be good. And then to show that the economics stack up." Maybe it's still early days yet but the UK's environmentalist movement has yet to be heard from on this issue. The location of which, at this point is either not finally chosen or the Garvey team is keeping way tight-lipped about. Both of which are kinda troubling for a project whose protoypes Professor Garvey expect to be operating within 18 months.