High-Temperature Hybrid Compressed Air Storage: Ultra-Low-Cost Energy Storage System Alternative to Batteries

Energy storage can be used to smooth fluctuations in renewable energy generation, reduce or eliminate intermittency and replace unpredictable energy with manageable, on-demand (dispatchable) power. The project team designed a fully-functional, low-cost, 74 kilowatt pilot high-temperature hybrid compressed air energy storage system that can efficiently store grid-level energy and release that energy when it is required to meet peak demand. Combining ultra-low-cost thermal energy storage with efficient compressed air energy storage, resulted in higher-than-normal efficiency system with low cost for electricity costs. The performance and operations models for the energy storage system show this type of energy storage can perform and operate at the grid level and can benefit California ratepayers with lower generation costs and reducing greenhouse gas and other emissions.