Wind energy is supposed to be free and something every country would like to take advantage of. But even if you install windmills there is still the problem of how to store the energy. At the moment, batteries are just not practical for storing the large amounts of energy for later use. A veteran of the canadian pipeline business may have come up with a novel alternative.

Dave McConnell, of Lancaster Energy Systems in Alberta, Canada proposes using windmills to drive a nitrogen compression system. Forcing inert nitrogen gas into unused large diameter gas pipelines, he makes what amounts to a gigantic compressed air tank. Releasing the compressed gas makes it possible to generate power anywhere along the pipeline.

The idea has been extensively researched by top scientists and engineers and may well be implemented in the coming years. It looks like a unique way to take advantage of two things Canada has in abundance. Wind and high pressure gas pipelines.