00:00Finland's massive sand battery stores renewable energy as heat.
00:04A tower of crushed soapstone rises in Pornäinen, Finland.
00:09The world's largest sand battery stores wind and solar power as heat.
00:14Engineers fill the Pornäinen system with about 2,000 tons of crushed soapstone inside a tall, insulated structure.
00:22Electric heaters warm circulating air, then pipes carry the hot air through the stone-like storage material.
00:28The sand battery can heat material to more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit during surplus renewable power periods.
00:35Pornäinen's thermal battery stores about 100 megawatt hours of heat for the Finnish district heating network.
00:42A control room operator watches screens as stored heat moves from the battery into local buildings.
00:48Solar panels and wind turbines feed extra electricity into the system when production rises above immediate demand.
00:55The battery releases heat later, helping homes, schools, and public buildings reduce reliance on fossil fuel boilers.
01:03A construction crane lowers equipment beside the cylindrical battery, while workers connect pipes, valves, and insulation.
01:10Finland's cold winters make stored heat valuable when dark skies and freezing air raise heating demand.
01:16Soapstone, pipes, heaters, turbines, and district heating lines turn leftover electricity into usable warmth.
01:25A snowy Finnish town glows at night, while stored heat moves quietly beneath the streets.
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