Energy Storage Solutions for an Intelligent Future, Dr John Harrison, Regenerative Air Energy Storage

Dr John Harrison InnoTech Centre

South West College

SENSE Workshop

Regenerative Air Energy Storage

22nd Nov 2013

$13,700 Billion The expected cost of electric infrastructure upgrades worldwide over the next two decades is almost $14 trillion. More than 30% of this investment serves a need that could be economically met with energy storage at the right price.

Compressed air -CAES

Which technology should we choose?

Compressing Air is hot business!

1978 - World's first CAES plant (290 MW) in Huntorf, Germany. (42% efficiency) 1991 - 110 MW plant with a storage capacity of 2,700 MWh in McIntosh, Alabama (54% efficiency)

Problem:

Store heat as well as

compressed air

Water can hold 3,300 times as much heat as the same volume of air, and as such, it is able to capture the heat generated by the process more effectively.

Goal: To Deliver the Lowest-Cost Peak Power

Half the price of batteries. Competes with conventional generation without subsidies.

LightSail Energy Confidential

A Fully Reversible Machine

LightSail Energy Confidential

• Heat is available at various temperature sources

• Ambient temperature : 15°C

Assumptions Increase in Energy Delivered vs Temp.

• Any heat is converted to electricity • Up to twice the energy output in the

low-grade temperature range for a given tank capacity Cost of energy capacity divided by two

Results and benefits

Low-Grade Heat

Medium-Grade Heat

4.5% increase in output every 10° increase over

ambient temperature

Heat at 100°C decreases the unit cost of air tanks by 30%

Enhanced Energy Storage Benefits from Any Heat

Power Unit • 500 kW modules • 70% round-trip efficiency • 20+ year lifetime • Selling price ≈ $1000 per kW

First-Generation Product Shipping in Q1-2014 Breakthrough Price and Service Life

Storage Unit • 1 MWh modules • Proprietary filament-wound tanks • Shipping container form factor • ASME certified • Selling price ≈ $200 per kWh

LightSail Energy Confidential

A new Northern Ireland based Joint Venture to serve the European, African and Middle Eastern Markets

LightSail Energy Confidential

LightSail NI

The goal for LightSail, is to provide grid-scale storage “as cost-effectively and efficiently as pumped hydro, but without the geographic restrictions.”

Thank you for listening

Any questions?

LightSail Energy Confidential

LightSail NI Ltd Highly efficient, low cost bulk energy storage can bring many benefits... • Matching electricity supply with demand • Reduction of winter peak demand on existing power stations • Avoidance of wind farm curtailment when there is too much wind generation • Avoiding the need for additional grid capacity when connecting new wind farms • Avoiding the need to upgrade electricity infrastructure including lines and sub-stations • Storing night time energy to be delivered during the day • Allowing higher penetrations of intermittent renewables onto the grid • Increasing security of supply • Reducing the dependency on imported fossil fuels • Increasing the likelihood of achieving ambitious renewable energy targets • Absorbs waste heat which allows good quality CHP at biomass plants for example • Reduces the spinning reserve requirement • Provides reactive power ancillary services – power factor control • Reduces availability payments to fossil generators and alleviates fuel poverty • Should allow fossil fuelled thermal power stations to be retired from service • Stimulation of local manufacturing and project development

LightSail Energy Confidential

LightSail NI

Other more subtle technical benefits... • Wide value chain impact – generation, transmission, distribution and consumer Generation: • Intermittent generation is smoothed • Reduced ramp rates when wind farms go online and/or come offline • Improved controllability when wind farms go online and/or come offline • Generation capacity firming helps to maintain production within predictable limits Transmission: • Provision of local dynamic voltage support to help improve network stability • Provision of instantaneous synchronised reserves • Reduction in the need for standby fossil fuel fired OCGTs to be kept available • Provision of support for frequency and area regulation Distribution and consumer: • Lowering of pressure on highly stressed parts of the grid operating near full load • Lowers the need for investment in infrastructure to cope with peak loads • Time-shifting from low to high tariff periods optimised return on investment