Gravity Powered
Solar, wind, and green energy is a popular topic in the energy community, especially for those that are advocates for green energy. But is it really a reliable source of energy? Well despite lots of debate in this area with some saying it is much too expensive per square area of land, to those complaining of how it will not be efficient when the suns not out, many people — and companies are proponents of the technology. In fact, the market has backed positive sentiment on this technology as the Invesco Solar ETF has seen major gains over the past year, even outpacing the NASDAQ at certain points. But sentiment and green energy optimism is not the only thing powering these stocks, the weather is, both in the literal sense and the financial sense.
But what if there was a way to harness power without the sun, wind, or water, but also without fossil fuels? Could we harness the power of something that exists in infinite quantities here on earth? Well, if you haven’t guessed the source of power I’m speaking about, it’s gravity. The force that pulls celestial objects together and on earth, pulls us down – giving mass weight. So how could this be harnessed? Well, one company named Energy Vault has created a gravity-based storage system rises over the Swiss town of Arbedo-Castione. The system looks like a crane and relies on gravity and 35-ton bricks to store and release energy. More specifically, when power demand is low, the crane uses surplus electricity from the Swiss grid to raise the bricks and stack them at the top. On the other hand, when the demand for power rises, the bricks are lowered, releasing kinetic energy back to the grid. What do you think about this source of energy? And could future companies working with this kind of energy become investable players in the energy sector of the market?
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
