A novel variation on compressed air energy storage that should directly help replace a coal power plant by:

converting carbon dioxide gas into a compressed liquid form and then converting that liquid back into a gas, powering a turbine to generate electricity, according to the Department of Energy. The gas will be stored in what officials call an “energy dome.”

From a linked article discussing the proof of concept installation:

The company says its technology has an energy storage density 10-20 times higher than other compressed air energy storage (CAES) solutions and two-thirds that of liquid air energy storage (LAES). However, Energy Dome points out that its solution does not require the cryogenic temperatures of LAES which can increase system complexity and competitiveness, it claims.

The DoE adds:

Through the use of compressed CO2, the system aims to improve efficiency compared to similar systems, as it produces less heat during the compression cycle and can be stored as a liquid. Energy Dome’s modular system also offers flexibility that can support a more resilient power grid.

Compressed air energy storage currently tops out with round trip efficiencies of 67-71% in complex setups.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666202723002045# Search: “Compared to other adiabatic systems”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed-air_energy_storage#

Promo video here. A good place to start is 2m47s:

https://youtu.be/-QFUvAbdlJk&t=2m47s

Warning: Lots of MBA buzz words

I like the positive spin of this article, and I think it’s required to keep people motivated about renewables and their impact on climate change, but… another way to phrase this headline is, “Renewables not keeping up with new demand, much less yesterday’s ‘baseline’ requirement.”

It’s not as positive, believe me I know. And I am not poking at all of this amazing progress. My point is, this article tells me we aren’t actually putting a dent in the problem that got us to this point, which was - all by itself - going to keep temperatures moving higher. I feel we are moving into a feedback loop, with higher temps and modernizing countries leading to evermore increased energy consumption.

If renewables growth can’t keep up with demand growth, we need more, and more options, to give the next generation a fighting chance.