[chaos_5]

Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a process that will use the sun's energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases

OMG! What a break through! Who would have ever imagined that you could break apart water into oxygen and hydrogen! The planet is saved!

[Onelifetogive]

The trouble is to store that energy cheaply and use it whenever needed.

I call BS!!! Peak electricity usage is at the hottest part of the day. Peak solar generation is at...you guessed it...the hottest part of the day.

When solar is meeting all of the peak demand from air conditioners running at the hottest part of the day, we can then worry about storing some of that power for later.

[doc1019]

Wasn’t this an experiment in grade school general science, (back in the day), involving batteries and water? ;-)

[ModelBreaker]

Actually, Chaos, I'm pretty skeptical on this kind of stuff. But if true and scalable, this would be pretty important. The problem with Solar, as you point out, is that it's completely goofy in its inconsistency.

Think of this process as a battery. The electrical energy is converted into H2, which can then be converted back into electricity at convenient times. It lets you smooth out the power generation by solar and wind. Economic solar electric is the sole remaining barrier. Until we have a good "battery," economic solar was just a niche market. A good battery could make it a mass market.

[r9etb]

OMG! What a break through!

The real breakthrough would be for FReepers to read the article before engaging in loud expulsions of gas.