Transforming Oil Wells into Batteries for the Sun and Wind - USC Viterbi | School of Engineering

To store energy in orphaned wells, sustainable power created by solar panels and windmills placed near them would be converted into high-pressure air by a compressor. The air would travel through pipes to subsurface saline aquifers, or shallow wet sands, between 1,000 and 8,000 feet beneath the surface. The high-pressure air would remain safely underground until needed. (Illustration/Iraj Ershaghi)

Transforming Oil Wells into Batteries for the Sun and Wind

USC Viterbi researchers want to convert idle oil and gas wells into much-needed storage for sustainable energy, making California’s blackouts a thing of the past.