Steam storage doesn't seem practical to me. First clue: if it was really practical, power companies would be using the tech today. The steam loses its energy quickly through its storage tank. If someone's actually using this technology, then cite it please, with a Web or document reference, and I'll change my mind.
What does work for energy storage is water pumped from lower altitude to higher altitude. That's been done for some time at the hydroelectric plants near Niagara Falls, for instance. Water at Lake Ontario level is pumped to higher level reservoirs up on the Niagara Escarpment with excess power from the hydro plants, and that potential energy turned to power to be used during peak loads. The same idea has been proposed for mountainous areas as well (Colorado).
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