Techno‐economic study of compressed air energy storage systems for the grid integration of wind power

Integrating variable renewable energy from wind farms into power grids presents challenges for system operation, control, and stability due to the intermittent nature of wind power. One of the most promising solutions is the use of compressed air energy storage (CAES). The main purpose of this paper is to examine the technical and economic potential for use of CAES systems in the grid integration. To carry out this study, 2 CAES plant configurations: adiabatic CAES (A‐CAES) and diabatic CAES (D‐CAES) were modelled and simulated by using the process simulation software ECLIPSE. The nominal compression and power generation of both systems were given at 100 and 140 MWe, respectively. Technical results showed that the overall energy efficiency of the A‐CAES was 65.6%, considerably better than that of the D‐CAES at 54.2%. However, it could be seen in the economic analysis that the breakeven electricity selling price (BESP) of the A‐CAES system was much higher than that of the D‐CAES system at €144/MWh and €91/MWh, respectively. In order to compete with large‐scale fossil fuel power plants, we found that a CO₂ taxation scheme (with an assumed CO₂‐tax of €20/tonne) improved the economic performance of both CAES systems significantly. This advantage is maximised if the CAES systems use low carbon electricity during its compression cycle, either through access to special tariffs at times of low carbon intensity on the grid, or by direct coupling to a clean energy source, for example a 100‐MW class wind farm.     

Operating characteristics of constant-pressure compressed air energy storage (CAES) system combined with pumped hydro storage based on energy and exergy analysis

Energy storage systems are becoming more important for load leveling, especially because of the widespread use of intermittent renewable energy. Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is a very promising method for energy storage because CAES relies on existing technologies, is less expensive, and easier to site and permit, as compared to pumped hydro storage. But, in the case of CAES employing hard rock caverns or man-made air vessels, although the smallest possible cavern volume is desirable in order to minimize the construction cost and optimize utilization of the given space, the operating pressure range in the cavern must be limited in order to reduce the deterioration in efficiency of the CAES system at off-design conditions. In this paper, a new constant-pressure CAES system combined with pumped hydro storage was studied to address the current problem associated with the conventional CAES systems. An energy and exergy analysis of the novel CAES system was performed in order to understand the operation characteristics of the system according to several different compression and expansion processes; we then examined the effects of the height of the storage cavern and heat transfer between two media (air, water) and the cavern on the performance of the novel CAES system.     

Modelling of a new hydro-compressed air-storage system

The interest in energy storage systems is increasing, since it provides an excellent solution to store the low-cost excess energy from the energy sources, which are available at peak demand hours. This paper presents a new compressed-air storage system that combines ambient air and hydraulic oil, in order to store energy in compressed-air form and benefit from the advantages of both pneumatic and hydraulic systems. The process consists of charging and discharging cycles, however, this paper investigates the discharging cycle, where a new technique of Small-Scale Compressed Air Energy Storage (SS-CAES) system is realised. The new idea in RC-CAHES is to obtain higher efficiency in energy conversion machines during charging and discharging processes with numerous advantages over conventional types of energy storage systems. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of this technique by proving that it has higher efficiency than a similar Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) systems.     

Current application situation and development prospect of physical energy storage technologies

作为可再生能源并网的关键技术,可再生能源的高速发展也带动了储能产业的发展和成熟。物理储能技术,发展历史长,技术较为成熟,部分已实现商业化运作;以抽水蓄能为代表,是电网调峰的主力,也在储能市场容量中占据着绝对份额。但无论是传统抽水蓄能,还是压缩空气储能都对环境、地理地质条件有较高的要求,极大地制约了这些技术的普遍推广和应用。因此物理储能也经历着应用模式的变革、传统技术向新兴技术转化的过程。虽然抽水蓄能、压缩空气储能和飞轮储能三种物理储能技术在原理、应用领域、安装容量以及未来发展趋势上各不相同, 但作为战略新兴技术,都需要技术的突破、政策和资金的支持以及更多的市场应用机会。     

Performance investigation of a novel near-isothermal compressed air energy storage system with stable power output

As one of the grid-scale energy storage technologies, compressed air energy storage (CAES) is promising to facilitate the permeability of renewable energies. By integrating CAES into renewable sources, the fluctuation and intermittence of renewable energies could be effectively restrained. Among various CAES system configurations, isothermal CAES (I-CAES) is considered as a most competitive technology with expected high efficiency. However, most of the existing I-CAES systems have trouble in keeping a stable power output. To address this issue, a novel near-isothermal CAES system is proposed in this article to acquire a near stable power output. Imitating the concept of hydraulic accumulator, a two pressure vessels structure is employed to maintain the gas pressure stable during discharging. Besides, the turbine power output can be controlled by adjusting the liquid flow rate of the Pelton turbine under this near constant pressure condition. Based on the system transient model and economic model, the system components transient behavior, parametric analysis, off-design performance analysis and economic evaluation issues are also conducted. Results show that system round trip efficiency (RTE) with 61.42% and energy density (ED) with 0.2015 kWh/m³ can be achieved under design condition. In the discharge process, the gas pressure in vessel varies in a small range, from 68 to 72 bar, which is relatively stable. The power output from Pelton turbine can be maintained around 1 kW. Meanwhile, the initial pressure, the pipe diameter, and the spraying flow rates of circulating pumps have significant effects on system RTE and ED. Furthermore, the Pelton turbine power output level can be adjusted by adding jets number, and the higher storage pressure can make the power output unsteady.     

An exergy analysis of a traditional compressed air energy storage system

压缩空气储能技术是具有较大发展前景的大规模储能技术之一,具有广阔的发展前景。使用Aspen Plus软件以传统压缩空气储能系统为例进行流程模拟,运用分析方法对模拟结果进行热力性能分析。分析结果表明,燃烧室的损失是系统各设备损失中最大的。同时还对压缩空气储能系统各个组成部件的运行效率与储能系统的损失之间的关系进行了敏感性分析,分析结果表明,对系统效率影响最大的参数为燃烧室效率,最小的参数为膨胀透平绝热效率。     

Performance comparison of different combined heat and compressed air energy storage systems integrated with organic Rankine cycle

Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is promising to enable large‐scale penetration of renewable energies (REs). However, conventional diabatic CAES (D‐CAES) depends largely on fossil fuels, while adiabatic CAES (A‐CAES) is limited in output power. To conquer these disadvantages, concept of combined heat and CAES (CH‐CAES) is proposed in this paper. The proposed system couples an electric heater with conventional A‐CAES. During charging, electricity storage transforms from pure compression to partly relying on Joule heating. The stored heat in an electric heater will be used to boost turbine inlet temperature during discharging. Consequently, system charge/discharge capacity can be improved without enlarging cavern size, raising cavern pressure, and producing greenhouse gases. This paper discusses three types of CH‐CAES systems with different electric heater installation positions. Off‐design performance analysis for each system is conducted on the basis of turbomachinery (compressors, turbines, and the pump) characteristic maps and heat exchangers off‐design models. Performance comparison is conducted between these three CH‐CAES systems (called Mode II, III, and IV for simplification) and the conventional A‐CAES system (Mode I). Control strategies are also given in this paper. Results show that the EVR (energy generated per unit volume of storage) increases with participation of an electric heater, while the RTE (system roundtrip efficiency) slightly decreases. Mode I has the highest RTE. The largest EVR appears in Mode III where the electrical heater is in series with the intercooler and after cooler. Mode II is a compromise solution to achieve both relatively high RET and EVR when the electrical heater is installed in series only with the intercooler. Mode IV with a paralleling electrical heater has great flexibility to adapt different user demands. The integration of the ORC has a positive effect on system RTE and EVR.     

压缩空气地下咸水含水层储能技术

能源危机和温室效应促进了可再生能源的利用,储能技术是解决太阳能、风能波动问题的重要手段。压缩空气储能（Compressed Air Energy Storage, CAES）技术是仅次于抽水蓄能的第二大蓄能技术。目前CAES多是通过洞穴实现,其主要缺点是对地质要求较高,合适的洞穴数量有限,为扩大其应用,可使用地下咸水含水层作为储层。本文介绍了CAES电站的工作原理、优缺点及各国的发展现状,并分析了利用地下咸水含水层进行压缩空气储能的可行性、优点及一些问题与技术方法,如储层内残余烃的影响、氧化与腐蚀作用、颗粒的影响及缓冲气的选择,表明含水层CAES将是拓宽CAES应用的重要途径。     

A review of marine renewable energy storage

Marine renewable energies are promising enablers of a cleaner energy future. Some technologies, like wind, are maturing and have already achieved commercial success. Similar to their terrestrial counterparts, marine renewable energy systems require energy storage capabilities to achieve the flexibility of the 21st century grid demand. The unique difficulties imposed by a harsh marine environment challenge the unencumbered rise of marine renewable energy generation and storage systems. In this study, the fundamentals of marine renewable energy generation technologies are briefed. A comprehensive review and comparison of state‐of‐the‐art novel marine renewable energy storage technologies, including pumped hydro storage (PHS), compressed air energy storage (CAES), battery energy storage (BES), hydrogen energy storage (HES), gravity energy storage (GES), and buoyancy energy storage (ByES), are conducted. The pros and cons, and potential applications, of various marine renewable energy storage technologies are also compiled. Finally, several future trends of marine renewable energy storage technologies are connoted.     

Economic feasibility and optimisation of an energy storage system for Portland Wind Farm (Victoria,Australia)

This paper presents the details of a theoretical study of the economic advantages of using large-scale energy storage to complement a wind farm in a base-load dominated electricity grid. A computer model is developed which simulates the operation of several energy storage systems when used with the 190-MW Portland Wind Farm (PWF) located in Portland, Victoria, Australia. A variety of operating strategies are compared with the results of a dynamic programming model which finds the maximum possible revenue which a given system can generate for a set of input conditions. Three energy storage systems are modelled and costed: Pumped Seawater Hydro Storage (PSHS), Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES), and Thermal Energy Storage (TES). It is found that CAES is the most profitable storage medium, requiring a capital expenditure of A$140 M and generating a rate of return (ROR) of 15.4%. The ROR for PSHS was 9.6%, and for TES was 8.0%. Therefore, a significant investment opportunity exists for the installation of an energy storage system in this wind farm. It is therefore highly recommended that CAES is investigated further with the aim of introducing large-scale energy storage to PWF and other similar wind turbine installations.     

Design and thermodynamic analysis of compressed air energy storage system

压缩空气储能技术具有提升风能与太阳能等可再生资源电能质量的潜力,通过此项技术实现间歇性与不稳定性可再生电力的有效储存,进而在电网负荷高峰期以优质电力的形式稳定输出.结合热力学分析方法设计了储能功率56.58 MW,释能输出功率154.76 MW的压缩空气储能系统.在释能阶段透平机组配置上,参照GE 9171E燃机布置第二级透平入口参数,并以其812.41 K高温烟气余热提供第一级透平工质所需全部热量,无需为第一级透平配备专门燃烧器.在此思路下设计的压缩空气储能系统,热耗可降低至3783.96 kJ/(kW·h),储能系统的能量转换效率也高达56.11%.     

Design of a Centrifugal Compressor with Low Solidity Vaned Diffuser (LSVD) for Large-Scale Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES)

Compressed Air Energy Storage(CAES) has tremendous promotional value in the intermittent renewable energy supply systems. CAES has special requirements for compressor(e.g. heavy load, high pressure ratio, wide range). With advantages of higher efficiency and wider operation range, IGC(Integrally Geared Compressors) is selected to fulfill the special requirements of the large-scale CAES. To get a better aerodynamic performance, in this paper, based on the analysis of internal flow of centrifugal compressor, a multi-objective one-dimensional optimization design program was put forward combined with modified Two-Zone model and a low solidity vaned diffuser(LSVD) design method. Then, a centrifugal compressor aerodynamic component optimization design system was established with the three-dimensional blade optimization design method based on neural network and genetic optimization algorithm. Then a validation was done by redesigning the Krain-Impeller to get better performance. Finally, the aerodynamic design of the first stage of IGC was completed. The CFD calculation results indicated that the total-to-total pressure ratio of the first stage was 2.51 and the polytropic efficiency was 91.0% at the design point. What’s more, an operation margin and surge margin of the compressor was about 26.5% and 16.4% respectively.     

Baseload wind energy: modeling the competition between gas turbines and compressed air energy storage for supplemental generation

The economic viability of producing baseload wind energy was explored using a cost-optimization model to simulate two competing systems: wind energy supplemented by simple- and combined cycle natural gas turbines (“wind+gas”), and wind energy supplemented by compressed air energy storage (“wind+CAES”). Pure combined cycle natural gas turbines (“gas”) were used as a proxy for conventional baseload generation. Long-distance electric transmission was integral to the analysis. Given the future uncertainty in both natural gas price and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions price, we introduced an effective fuel price, p_NGeff, being the sum of the real natural gas price and the GHG price. Under the assumption of p_NGeff=$5/GJ (lower heating value), 650 W/m² wind resource, 750 km transmission line, and a fixed 90% capacity factor, wind+CAES was the most expensive system at ¢6.0/kWh, and did not break even with the next most expensive wind+gas system until p_NGeff=$9.0/GJ. However, under real market conditions, the system with the least dispatch cost (short-run marginal cost) is dispatched first, attaining the highest capacity factor and diminishing the capacity factors of competitors, raising their total cost. We estimate that the wind+CAES system, with a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission rate that is one-fourth of that for natural gas combined cycle plants and about one-tenth of that for pulverized coal plants, has the lowest dispatch cost of the alternatives considered (lower even than for coal power plants) above a GHG emissions price of $35/tC_equiv., with good prospects for realizing a higher capacity factor and a lower total cost of energy than all the competing technologies over a wide range of effective fuel costs. This ability to compete in economic dispatch greatly boosts the market penetration potential of wind energy and suggests a substantial growth opportunity for natural gas in providing baseload power via wind+CAES, even at high natural gas prices.     

Performance Analysis of Small Size Compressed Air Energy Storage Systems for Power Augmentation: Air Injection and Air Injection/Expander Schemes

Two small size second-generation compressed air energy storage (CAES) systems have been investigated. Both plants are based on a 4600 kW Mercury recuperated gas turbine (GT) and on an artificial air storage system. In CAES air injection (CAES AI) plant, the stored compressed air is mixed with the air flow exiting the GT compressor and fed after a recuperative heating to the GT combustion chamber. A topping air expander is included in the CAES air injection/expander (CAES AI/E) plant scheme. Preliminary evaluations have been carried out to assess the maximum achievable GT power augmentation taking safety of operations and plant life duration into consideration. Plant performance has been evaluated during the overall operational cycle (charging, storage and discharging phases). CAES AI plant allows a 30% maximum extra power delivery (some 1500 kW) in respect to the nominal design GT power. The introduction of the topping air expander in CAES AI/E plant allows an additional power production of some 300 kW. Both plants have shown storage efficiency improvements by reducing the discharge period duration. Satisfactory values around 70% have been found in the best operating conditions.     

Thermodynamic analysis of a novel energy storage system with carbon dioxide as working fluid

Recently, energy storage system (ESS) with carbon dioxide (CO₂) as working fluid has been proposed as a new method to deal with the application restrictions of Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) technology, such as dependence on geological formations and low energy storage density. A novel ESS named as Compressed CO₂ Energy Storage (CCES) based on transcritical CO₂ Brayton cycle is presented in this paper. The working principle of CCES system is introduced and thermodynamic model is established to assess the system performance. Parametric analysis is carried out to study the effect of some key parameters on system performance. Results show that the increase of turbine efficiency is more favorable for system optimization and the effect of minimum pressures on system performance is more significant compared with maximum pressures. A simple comparison of CCES system, liquid CO₂ system and Advanced Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage (AA-CAES) system is conducted. It is shown that the system efficiency of CCES is lower than that of AA-CAES system but 4.05% higher than that of liquid CO₂ system, while the energy density of CCES system is 2.8 times the value of AA-CAES system, which makes CCES a novel ESS with potential application.     

Energy and exergy analysis of a micro-compressed air energy storage and air cycle heating and cooling system

Energy storage systems are becoming more important for load leveling, especially for widespread use of intermittent renewable energy. Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is a promising method for energy storage, but large scale CAES is dependent on suitable underground geology. Micro-CAES with man-made air vessels is a more adaptable solution for distributed future power networks. In this paper, energy and exergy analyses of a micro-CAES system are performed, and, to improve the efficiency of the system, some innovative ideas are introduced. The results show that a micro-CAES system could be a very effective system for distributed power networks as a combination that provides energy storage, generation with various heat sources, and an air-cycle heating and cooling system, with a energy density feasible for distributed energy storage and a good efficiency due to the multipurpose system. Especially, quasi-isothermal compression and expansion concepts result in the best exergy efficiencies.     

Turbine inlet cooling with thermal energy storage

Turbine inlet cooling (TIC) is a common technology used to increase combustion turbine power output and efficiency. The use of mechanical or absorption chillers for TIC allows for more air cooling than evaporative methods and also imposes a significant parasitic load to the turbine. Thermal energy storage (TES) can be used to shift this load to off‐peak hours. Use of thermal storage increases the flexibility of turbine power output, which benefits from the application of optimization tools. This paper explores the effect of combining TIC with TES to enhance the performance of a district cooling system that includes a gas turbine for power generation. The work illustrates how the system's performance can be enhanced using optimization. Application of multi‐period optimization to the system that includes TES brings significant operational cost savings when compared with a system without thermal storage. It is also shown how TES provides demand‐side energy management in the district cooling loop and supply‐side management through the use of TIC. In addition to the optimization study, a thorough literature review is included that describes the current body of work on combining TIC with TES. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The value of compressed air energy storage in energy and reserve markets

Storage devices can provide several grid services, however it is challenging to quantify the value of providing several services and to optimally allocate storage resources to maximize value. We develop a co-optimized Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) dispatch model to characterize the value of providing operating reserves in addition to energy arbitrage in several U.S. markets. We use the model to: (1) quantify the added value of providing operating reserves in addition to energy arbitrage; (2) evaluate the dynamic nature of optimally allocating storage resources into energy and reserve markets; and (3) quantify the sensitivity of CAES net revenues to several design and performance parameters. We find that conventional CAES systems could earn an additional $23 ± 10/kW-yr by providing operating reserves, and adiabatic CAES systems could earn an additional $28 ± 13/kW-yr. We find that arbitrage-only revenues are unlikely to support a CAES investment in most market locations, but the addition of reserve revenues could support a conventional CAES investment in several markets. Adiabatic CAES revenues are not likely to support an investment in most regions studied. Modifying CAES design and performance parameters primarily impacts arbitrage revenues, and optimizing CAES design will be nearly independent of dispatch strategy.     

Economic analysis of an industrial photovoltaic system coupling with battery storage

The Energy and Evaluation Special Committee of the China Price Association proposed two types of bill for battery energy storage (BES) subsidies in 2017: the first was that energy storage should be subsidised based on the initial installation capacity of BES system, while the second was that it should be subsidised based on the energy discharged by the BES system during the operational period. The economic benefits of a distributed photovoltaic (PV) system or a distributed system with PV and BES in the overall life cycle are discussed in the context of an industrial zone in Shanghai. The results suggest that the net present value (NPV) of a PV‐BES system with an optimised configuration is higher than the NPV of a PV system alone. The NPV of a distributed PV system with four different BESs is found to decrease in the order Li‐ion > NaS > VFB > Pb‐C because of the characteristics of their batteries. The NPVs of PV‐BES systems increase in equal proportion to the increase in the BES subsidy based on installation capacity for these four BES systems, while they show an inequable growth rate of earnings for the same BES subsidy based on the energy discharged over the operational period. The second bill for BES subsidy is more beneficial to the BES industry than the first, as it encourages higher pay for more work.     

压缩空气蓄能（CAES）系统综述

介绍了一种新型的大规模蓄能技术——压缩空气蓄能（Compressed Air Energy Storage,CAES）,CAES系统响应快、容量大、成本低、寿命长,逐渐成为了全球第二大蓄能技术。根据CAES系统的容量不同,将CAES系统划分为大型CAES、小型CAES和微型CAES3种,并针对3种不同容量级的CAES,详细介绍了其组成及现状,对技术特点与难点和应用领域及场景进行了分析与概述。对CAES系统的研究方向与发展前景进行了展望。