National Geographic

1,942 feetbelow the surface23 feet``````Pump/Turbine``````Windturbines``````Ten-mile loop``````Underground reservoir``````Waterdrainedthroughturbine``````Surface reservoir``````Solar panels``````Mineelevator``````Powerstation``````Water would be storedunderground in a newlyconstructed loop madeto hold more than150 million gallons.``````When there is moredemand for energythan supply, water fromthe surface reservoir isdrained to the under-ground reservoir, pass-ing through a turbineto generate power.3KELSEY NOWAKOWSKI. ART: STEFAN FICHTEL. SOURCE: ANDRÉ NIEMANN, UNIVERSITY OF DUISBURG-ESSEN``````Electricity is relayedto a power station onthe surface. It’s distrib-uted to the electricgrid through high-tension power lines.4PLACE Prosper-Haniel coal mine``````LOCATION Bottrop, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany``````DISTINCTION A soon-to-be-closedcoal mine may find newlife as a storage facility forrenewable energy.``````BY JASON TREAT``````Bottrop``````AFRICA``````EUROPE ASIA``````GERMANY``````North Rhine-Westphalia``````DECODER``````JULY 2018 29