Berlin Builds a Giant Thermos to Help Heat Homes This Winter

The Associated Press reports on a massive new 150-foot (45-meter) tower going up in Berlin — just to hold 56 million liters (14.8 million gallons) of hot water that "will help heat Berlin homes this winter even if Russian gas supplies dry up..."

Water will be brought to almost boiling temperature using electricity from solar and wind power plants. During periods when renewable energy exceeds demand, the facility acts as a giant battery, though it doesn't store electricity. The company's heat unit in Germany uses thermos to store the heat when they don't need it. We can let it go when we need it. Sometimes you need to turn off the wind turbine because you can't use the grids anymore. "Wherever we are standing, we can use this electricity." It will have a thermal capacity of 200 Megawatts, enough to meet most of Berlin's hot water needs during the summer and less than 10% in the winter. The insulated tank can keep water hot for up to 13 hours when there is no wind or sun. Bettina Jarasch is the top climate official in Berlin. She said that the Berlin region is more dependent on Russian fossil fuels than other parts of Germany. We're in a hurry because of that.

"While it will be Europe's biggest heat storage facility when it's completed at the end of this year, an even bigger one is already being planned in the Netherlands."