I hope this is the right place to put this idea..
I’ve been thinking about storing excess solar energy as potential kinetic energy. Like a weight on the end of a rope (hanging in a well perhaps?) and that rope is pulled up and wound around a generator shaft. Then when the solar panels aren’t producing energy the weight will descend causing the generator to become active. There would have to be some gearing involved to slow the descent of the weight but I think there’s real potential with this idea.
