An energy storage system that could potentially power a city of 100,000 homes with just renewable energy has been developed by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) . The Thermal Energy Grid Point - By - Junction Photovoltaics system , called “ sun in a box ” , stores energy from excess wind and solar power in tanks of molten silicon . It can also be sited anywhere, regardless of a location’s landscape. The light energy can be converted into electricity and fed to a grid . The system is half the cost of the current cheapest grid - scale energy system , pumped hydro , and would be far more affordable than lithium battery storage , the researchers said .
An energy storage system that could potentially power a city of 100,000 homes with just renewable energy has been developed by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) . The Thermal Energy Grid Point - By - Junction Photovoltaics system , called “ sun in a box ” , stores energy from excess wind and solar power in tanks of molten silicon . The light energy can be converted into electricity and fed to a grid . The system is half the cost of the current cheapest grid - scale energy system , pumped hydro , and would be far more affordable than lithium battery storage , the researchers said .