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"Anything that does commercial-scale energy storage is huge. It can completely change the economic prospects of a wind farm." |
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Dr. John Gardner,
Associate Vice President of Energy
Research, Policy and Campus Sustainability at
Boise State University
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Compressed Air Energy Storage – Its time has come
Energy Storage and Power LLC (ES&P) offers the next generation Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) technology:
- Leading CAES development expertise. ES&P principals have experience developing the first generation CAES project, deployed successfully in Alabama. ES&P principals' experience in developing and implementing first generation CAES technology resulted in important practical lessons learned that were incorporated into the patented second generation CAES technology.
- Advantageous second generation CAES technology. ES&P has developed and patented the second generation of CAES technology that possesses numerous advantages relative to the first generation of CAES technology, including a lower capital cost, enhanced reliability, a more rapid response rate, greater scalability and enhanced operating efficiency.
- Enables the growth of renewables generation. Renewable power sources are critical to addressing climate change. CAES greatly enhances the value of renewable power sources by (1) storing energy produced by renewables when demand is low and releasing it when it is needed, and by (2) rapidly providing power in the event of a sudden loss of renewables generation. As renewables become a larger part of the U.S. energy supply picture, CAES will be an important technology to fully realize the value of renewables.
- Reduces US dependency on foreign sources of energy. By more fully utilizing off-peak power, primarily from nuclear, wind and coal plants, CAES enables a reduction in the production of on-peak power from inefficient peaking generation that uses oil and natural gas as fuel sources. CAES uses a small amount of natural gas in its power production process, 1/3 of that used by combustion turbines; the use of CAES will therefore help avoid the use of foreign sources of energy.