Overview: Energy Storage

Energy is stored to use it at a different time than when it was generated. The process of converting the energy to storable form means that some energy is lost due to inefficiency and heat. Additional energy is lost when the energy is released or recovered due to a second inefficiency. Ideally, storage is avoided to have a more efficient process. Time-of-day metering is likely in the future as metering becomes electronic and inexpensive (like a thermostat). Shifting the energy from usage peaks to lowuse times helps the utility, and customers would be rewarded by lower charges.

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ENERGY STORAGE

Renewable energy is often intermittent (like wind and sun), and storage allows use at a convenient time. Compressed air, (pumped water technologies. flywheels, weight-shifting storage) are developing

Batteries are traditional for small systems and electric vehicles; grid storage is a financial alternative. Energy may be stored financially as credits in the electrical grid. Net metering provides the same cost as sale dollars to the supplier; 37 states law; new law needed in Florida.

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BATTERY HISTORY

Alessandro Volta made primary batteries of dissimilar metals (silver, zinc, and a salt water wet paper between them) about 1800 (try touching a dime and a nickel in contact to your tongue).They were piled up, and became

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known as a voltaic pile (from whence came the atomic pile).

Johann Ritter developed a rechargeable (secondary) cell about 1802, but there was no generator to recharge them yet. George Leclanche wet cells used carbon rods and zinc. He made a wet paste that could be sealed into the cell, thus making a convenient portable energy source; no spilling. In 1860, the secondary or rechargeable battery was further developed by Raymond Gaston Plant (lead sheets & acid). A lead paste on the plates provided more active surface area and allowed longer discharge life in 1881 (Faure).

ELECTROCHEMICAL BATTERIES

Batteries (groups; from artillery guns) of cells are used separately or in a case containing

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several cells; a 12V car battery has six 2V cells inside the case.

Large batteries are often use separate 2V cells placed next to each other in a rectangle. Various cell chemistries are used Lead-acid; Nickel-cadmium; Lithium Nickel-metal hydride Zinc-air

Best suited to storage periods of 1 second to 60 days . Self-discharge and sulphation occur with time. Desulphator circuits can reduce sulfates for longer life.

FLOW BATTERIES

Flow batteries use pumped electrolytes that move outside of the battery case.

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Polysulfide Bromide (PSB), Vanadium Redox (VRB), Zinc Bromine (ZnBr), and Hydrogen Bromine (H-Br) batteries are examples.

A filling station could exchange spent electrolyte for new charged electrolyte. The power and energy ratings are thus independent since the power is from the battery electrodes while the electrolyte may be replaced periodically.

FLYWHEELS

Flywheels store energy as angular momentum. Best suited to storage periods of 1 second to 10 minutes. High temperature superconducting bearings reduce bearing friction to 2% of speed drop per day. Ball bearings are so inexpensive that the performance gains of magnetic bearings are irrelevant.

FLYWHEELS & TRAINS

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This trackside flywheel system provides stabilization of voltages on the track system by being both motor and generator. Similar types are used to stabilize renewable energy outputs. Buses have been operated that use flywheels charged by electricity at the bus stops, thus avoiding the cost of overhead trolley wires.

ULTRACAPACITORS
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Ultracapacitors are very high capacitance units. Best suited to storage periods of 0.1 second to 10 seconds. Stored energy is 0.5 C V2 Capacitances now reach 2.7 kF (kilofarad). Carbon electrode surface areas 1000m2 to 2000m2 per gram provide high capacitance. Electrolytes are sulfuric acid or potassium hydroxide.

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HYDRO PUMPED STORAGE

Special turbines can run either to spin an alternator or to act as a pump. This reversibility allows excess electrical energy to be used to pump water to a higher storage reservoir to be used as an energy source later. Since 2.31 ft of elevation has a bottom pressure of one pound per square inch (psi), a head height of 200 ft is equivalent to 86 psi. Japan built a 30MW seawater pumped hydro system at Yanbaru in 1999. Worldwide, pumped hydro is about 90GW, ~3% of total storage, the most widespread highenergy storage technique.

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SAN LUIS, CALIFORNIA

Each of the eight pumping-generating units has a capacity of 63,000 horsepower [47 MW] as a motor and 53,000 kilowatts as a generator. As a pumping station to fill San Luis Reservoir, each unit lifts 1,375 cubic feet per second at 290 feet total head. As a generating plant, each unit passes 1,640 cubic feet . Bureau of Reclamation.

Picture on disparity between motor and generator

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HYDRO EXAMPLES
Pumped hydro systems are installed world wide, but there are limited locations where new dams may be installed. Opposition to dams is increasing, thus political rather than technical factors are restricting the new installations.

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COMPRESSED AIR PUMPED STORAGE

"The world's first compressed air energy storage plant was in Germany," Lee Davis

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(plant manager for the Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) Power Plant in McIntosh, Alabama). "The Alabama CAES plant was the first in the United States when it opened in 1991. Electrical motors compress air to 1078 psi within underground salt caverns (100 MW); heat is lost in the cavern On release, natural gas is burned to heat the air again, which then passes through a turbine, spinning an alternator (326 MWe) The Norton Energy Company plans a similar site using an abandoned limestone mine 35 miles south of Cleveland, Ohio

COMPRESSED AIR ENERGY STORAGE

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COMPRESSED H2 AND NG STORAGE

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Hydrogen is normally stored in 8-inch tubes and tanks

H2 pressures range from 2000 to 10,000 psi Nickel-metal hydride is a solid pellet or powder storage CNG or compressed natural gas is stored at 3000 psi

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LIQUID AIR ENERGY STORAGE

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is developing LASE (Liquid Air Storage Energy). The system makes liquid air at nights and weekends for vaporization and electricity generation. The turbine is based upon a rocket motor pump. This load-shifting provides incentive to use the system. Could also storage. be done with the liquid economic nitrogen

SUPERCONDUCTOR S

Since a superconductor has essentially zero resistance, a current once started will flow forever. At a later time, energy could be extracted from the superconductor. Since the superconductors must be kept far below usual air temperature (~20K to 80K),

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energy must be used to compress the gas and make it liquefy.

Newer superconductors are being investigated to find ones with a higher critical temperature.

SUPERCONDUCTOR EXAMPLE

A current is induced in the superconductor toroid by inserting a magnet briefly.

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Once replaced in the liquid nitrogen, the current circulation can be detected by a compass. Current decay is on the order of 50% in 1020 years.

CONCLUSION: ENERGY STORAGE

Energy storage is to be avoided due to the losses, but may be economic when load timeshifting is possible. Energy must be stored in vehicles since they cannot obtain sufficient power from wind or sun on the vehicle.

Special student Sun Rayce PV cars are fragile and light, and cannot be used in normal highway traffic without a significant death rate.

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Protected by team cars travelling with them.

Newer technologies may increase energy storage density at a lower cost; both are needed for a viable product.

BIBLOGRAPHY References: Books

Boyle, Godfrey. Renewable Energy, Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-19-26178-4. (my preferred text) Brower, Michael. Cool Energy. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press,1992. 0-262-02349-0, TJ807.9.U6B76, 333.7940973.

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Duffie, John and William A. Beckman. Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes. NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 920 pp., 1991 Gipe, Paul. Wind Energy for Home & Business. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Pub. Co., 1993. 0-930031-64-4, TJ820.G57, 621.45 Patel, Mukund R. Wind and Solar Power Systems. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1999, 351 pp. ISBN 0-8493-1605-7, TK1541.P38 1999, 621.312136 Srensen, Bent. Renewable Energy, Second Edition. San Diego: Academic Press, 2000, 911 pp. ISBN 0-12-656152-4.

References: Websites, etc.

http://www.mhi.co.jp/tech/htm/8353t/e835305t.ht m liquid air energy storage http://unisci.com/stories/20013/0802016.htm compressed air storage http://www.aip.org/isns/reports/2001/025.html compressed air storage
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on on

http://www.sandia.gov/media/NewsRel/NR2001/nor ton.htm on compressed air storage http://www.eere.energy.gov/der/compressed_air.ht ml http://www.hepi.com/basics/history.htm batteries http://www.et.anl.gov/sections/te/research/flywheel .html flywheels http://www.aspes.ch/faq.html http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/proceedings/0 1/hybrids/Hybrid%20Workshop%20Group %203%20Breakout%20NREL.pdf http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/proceedings/0 1/hybrids

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