[BabyPeanut]

What large-scale energy storage facilities are in production now?

[BabyPeanut]

Have some clues

It ain't hydrogen.

You can find it here:




It can store 800kWh, output 200kW with peak bursts to 400kW.

It gets the electricity from wind power generation.

{rearranged for better page fit; EE}

[Devil]

There are NO large scale energy storage schemes. There are a few dozen medium scale pumped water storage systems, which are sufficient to provide a few hours of electricity per day to top up at peak demand. The one I'm most familiar with is the Hongrin installation in Switzerland, where water is pumped from Lac Léman (Lake of Geneva) to the Lac de l'Hongrin at night to be discharged back again though two penstocks feeding eight turbines at peak hours during the day. If my memory is good, the level difference is about 800 m and it can provide a peak power of about 60 MW, so we're talking of a total storage capacity of about 250 MWh. This is the same amount of energy as a single reactor nuclear power station, such as an EPR, can provide in 10 minutes.

The number of sites, world-wide, suitable for pumped storage is quite limited because:
1) the bottom water source has to be massive to absorb the level changes with negligible effect
2) the top water reservoir has to be close to the bottom one but with an adequate altitude difference
3) the geological structure around the top reservoir has to be able to support constant changes in level without causing rock fatigue
4) like all HE systems, it must be in a seismically inactive region

These are useful, but limited. It would be utopian to think such systems could smooth out the variations of wind or solar generation, where the wind may be lacking for days or even weeks, or there may be cloud cover for days on end, or even night and day.

[BabyPeanut]

The one I'm most familiar with is the Hongrin installation in Switzerland, where water is pumped from Lac Léman (Lake of Geneva) to the Lac de l'Hongrin at night to be discharged back again though two penstocks feeding eight turbines at peak hours during the day. If my memory is good, the level difference is about 800 m and it can provide a peak power of about 60 MW, so we're talking of a total storage capacity of about 250 MWh. This is the same amount of energy as a single reactor nuclear power station, such as an EPR, can provide in 10 minutes.

http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/87/0c01e487.asp

First VRB energy storage system installed

Australia's first Vanadium Redox Battery energy storage system (VRB ESS) has been installed on King Island by Pinnacle VRB Ltd.

King Island, in the Bass Strait, has a rich resource of wind power. The island’s four 1500kW diesel engine generators have been augmented with 3 x 250kW and 2 x 850kW wind turbines.

The wind that drives the wind turbines is neither reliable nor constant and power generated by the Huxley Hill wind farm does not coincide with the cyclical electrical load.

This problem has been alleviated with the installation of a Vanadium Redox Battery energy storage system that stores excess wind generated power and releases this energy when the load increases.

Pinnacle VRB Ltd, the owners of this technology, supplied and installed the system with the following specifications:

* Energy stored: 800kWh.

* Continuous power rating: 200kW.

* Peak short term output: 400kW.

* Volume of electrolyte: 55,000 litres.

This was the first application worldwide of using VRB technology to assist in harnessing renewable energy for a remote power system, and the first commercially operating VRB outside of Japan.

Pinnacle VRB chairman Barry Lyttle said the VRB installation on King Island was working well.

8 March 2004

[BabyPeanut]

so we're talking of a total storage capacity of about 250 MWh. This is the same amount of energy as a single reactor nuclear power station, such as an EPR, can provide in 10 minutes.

The (VRB) technology can store at least 1500 kilowatts and is more environmentally friendly than conventional lead acid batteries.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/ ... click=true

[BabyPeanut]

Hydro Tasmania, through the Remote Renewable Power Generation Program (RRPGP), administered by the OEPC, has installed an additional two 850kW turbines and a 200kW vanadium redox battery at Kirex farm on King Island to reduce the community’s reliance on diesel. A total of 25MW of the island’s energy now comes from the wind farm.

http://www.dier.tas.gov.au/publications ... ps/energy/

[BabyPeanut]

click me

Innovation the focus of King Island wind farm expansion 26 February 2004

Hydro Tasmania and its partners have brought about a most remarkable remote area renewable energy solution.

The solution is so innovative that it will provide the residents of King Island with up to 50 per cent wind power and at the same time provide greater system reliability.

This development is at the forefront of Australia's technical advance in renewable energy.

At the official opening of the King Island wind farm expansion today, Hydro Tasmania Chairman, Mr Peter Rae, said that what had begun as an experiment in 1998 was now a significant renewable energy supply for King Island.

"The addition of two 850 kilowatt Vestas turbines to the existing wind farm will increase the contribution of wind energy to the island's electricity demand to about 50 percent," Mr Rae said.

"This increase in wind energy production will provide substantial generation savings with a reduction in diesel fuel of around one million litres each year.

"The additional wind energy will also result in an additional reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 2700 tonnes per annum over and above the 1900 tonnes per annum saving from the initial wind project."

The development of an innovative battery system is a key factor in increasing the proportion of wind energy able to be used for power supply.

"Solving the problem of wind energy variability and system reliability through the installation of a Vanadium Redox Battery is a key feature of the expansion," Mr Rae said.

"The battery, which was supplied and installed by Pinnacle VRB, smoothes out the variability of the wind by storing excess wind energy and releasing it back into the system in a controlled way.

"This is the first commercial application of the battery in Australia."

Mr Rae said that the King Island wind farm represented Hydro Tasmania's commitment to the community and to developing innovative renewable energy projects.

"Small, innovative developments such as the King Island wind farm, are as important to our future as large developments."

Hydro Tasmania acknowledges the substantial funding support for this project by the Australian Government through the Renewable Remote Power Generation Program and the Renewable Energy Commercialisation Program, administered by the Australian Greenhouse Office.

The Tasmanian Office of Energy, Planning and Conservation also provided assistance in the administration of the funding.

"This funding is important in encouraging the development of renewable energy solutions for remote communities," Mr Rae said "And this development, as for Hydro Tasmania's other renewable energy projects, is underpinned by the Federal Government's world leading MRET scheme".

The King Island wind farm expansion was officially opened today by the Federal Minister for the Environment and Heritage, the Hon. Dr David Kemp and the Hon. Bryan Green, the Tasmanian Minister for Infrastructure, Energy and Resources.

For further information, contact Ian Colvin on 03 6230 5800

FACT FILE

In 1993 Hydro Tasmania conducted pre-feasibility studies to determine renewable energy options for King Island.

During 1994/95 feasibility studies were undertaken to find the best location for the wind farm and the size and number of wind turbines.

In 1995 the decision was taken by the Board to proceed with Hydro Tasmania's first wind farm

In 1997 the King Island Council approved the first stage of the wind farm development that comprised three 250 kW Nordex wind turbines.

On 17 March 1998 Huxley Hill wind farm was officially opened

The completed Stage one provided King Island with about 18 percent of its energy needs, and displaced about 1900 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Stage two of the development comprises two 850kW Vestas wind turbines, a Vanadium Redox battery and a state of the art control system.

The control system, designed by Hydro Tasmania Consulting, maximises power system usage of available wind energy.

The completed wind farm (Stage 1 and 2) will contribute about 50 percent of the island's energy needs, reducing greenhouse emissions by 4600 tonnes.

The wind farm expansion will reduce diesel consumption on the island by more than a million litres a year.

The cost of Stage one was $2.5 million. The cost of constructing Stage two was $6.8 million with the Australian Government contributing over $2.5 million through its Renewable Remote Power Generation Program and the Renewable Energy Commercialisation Program. A further $700,000 in funding under the Renewable Energy Commercialisation Program was provided to Pinnacle VRB Ltd to assist with the installation of the Vanadium Redox battery.


Helen Brain, 03 6230 5746

[MarkR]

The problem with energy storgae, is that the only practical technology for large scale storage is pumped-hydro. This was realised early when nuclear power began a large-scale roll-up: 1st generation nuclear power stations were simply too expensive to be left running at part-power. A storage system was needed to absorb excess capacity at night and use it during the day.

The project I'm most familiar with is Dinorwig in Wales. brief specs:

Energy stored: 9100 MWh
Cont. Power rating: 1750 MW
Startup time (Stand-by to Full output): 16 seconds
Efficiency: Approx 76%

Because of the early adoption of pumped-storage, most suitable sites, in countries which could benefit are now taken.

Battery storage is more flexible (faster operation time, and can be recharge after a part discharge - many pumped-hydro can't start their pumps if the top reservoir is not empty), but its cost is much higher. It may allow an intermittant supply of energy to be sold more effectively (i.e. at peak hours), but it is unlikely to be able to support an intermittant source for more than that.

[mikela]

from the Electricity Storage Association's website, http://www.electricitystorage.org/technologies.htm :



I hope posting a corporate website's images without permission doesn't violate ethics and copyright too much, but I love looking at charts. It looks like pumped hydro will continue to be the most practical of the "large" (medium) scale energy storage solutions, but smaller scale electricity storage devices distributed at key points within the grid can contribute greatly to the reliability of the grid linky. I'm rooting for ultra long duration flywheels (see this thread) because they have long life and almost no maintenance costs, but advances in nanotechnology are more likely to favor materials solutions like supercapacitors.

[BabyPeanut]

http://www.tva.gov/sites/raccoonmt.htm

Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant

Construction at Raccoon Mountain began in 1970 and was completed in 1978.

Once the upper reservoir is full, the pumped-storage plant can provide 22 hours of continuous power generation.

The generating capacity of Raccoon Mountain is 1,713,600 kilowatts of electricity.

So GW pumped hydro exists

[BabyPeanut]

I'm rooting for ultra long duration flywheels

A comparison of VRB and flywheels

http://www.telepower.com.au/PVwork98.PDF

[BabyPeanut]

Thanks, Mikela for the link to

http://www.electricitystorage.org/

Appears the Regenesys technology is Polysulfide Bromide battery (PSB). It was hard to get a straight answer about that from the pages I had been seeing.

http://www.electricitystorage.org/tech/ ... es_psb.htm

That page does not mention the cancellation of the TVA Regenesys PSB facility.

[Devil]

NO kind of battery can be considered large scale energy storage which is the question you are asking.

A modern thermal power station is typically 1-1.5 GW capacity. If you consider that it runs at ¼-capacity for 8 hours/day, you have a surplus capacity of, say, 8 GWh every night. There is no way this surplus capacity can be stored and least of all by a battery. You talk about 800 kWh. 8 GWh is 10,000 times that capacity. 800 kWh is piddlingly small in comparison.

Let us take a typical wind generator. The typical ones on the market today are rated at 2 - 4 MW at wind speeds of 20 m/s. Let us take a 2 MW machine. At full rated wind speed, it will produce 2,000 kWh in just one hour. This is sufficient to supply about 1,000 average households (provided they stagger their cooking times). Your 800 kWh would provide power to the same 1,000 households for about 24 minutes, when the wind drops.

Please, sense of proportion.

[BabyPeanut]

Well thanks for the enlightening web blanket. Let me try again in a new thread.