Lab's plan to cut energy costs is not just hot air

摘要

An engineer at Sandia National Laboratories thinks compressed air stored in underground caverns could halve the cost of electricity from generators. Compressors would pressurize underground caverns to as high as 1,200 pounds per square inch (vs. 15 psi at sea level) during hours of off-peak demand. During peak demand hours, the compressed air would be used to make electricity generators more efficient.