Currents Ep338: A New Use for Old Wells
Mar 5, 2026
Kemp Gregory, CEO of Renewell Energy, leads a team turning idle oil and gas wells into gravity-based grid storage using a heavy weight and regenerative winch. He breaks down how well water, efficiency numbers, costs, and site criteria shape the tech. They also cover funding, early installs, scalability, and plans to scale to utility-scale capacity.
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Efficiency And Typical System Size
- Renewell's field-tested round-trip efficiency is about 60% with potential to reach ~70%.
- Each deployed system today yields ~36 kWh and 36 kW with a 1-hour charge/discharge profile; scaling to ~100 kW/100 kWh requires deeper wells.
Seven Criteria For Ideal Wells
- Site selection requires wells near electrical infrastructure, sufficient depth/diameter/straightness, intact casing, and local energy storage revenue.
- High plug-and-abandonment costs make conversions economically viable because Renewell charges for an alternate remediation service.
Dual Revenue Model From Wells
- Renewell bundles two services: they provide oil/gas operators an approved alternative to plugging and abandonment and convert the well into low-cost grid storage.
- The remediation fee funds hardware build, lowering storage CapEx for utilities.