The advanced compressed air energy storage impact
Image credit: Hydrostor
For too long, energy storage was the missing piece of the decarbonisation puzzle. But today, that’s changing.
As the transition to renewable energy accelerates, it has become clear that our future grid won’t just be about generating clean power. Without robust, utility-scale energy storage, grids cannot fully leverage the growing supply of solar and wind power in the most economically advantageous way.
The real challenge is to store clean energy in ways that guarantee sustainability, reliability, cost effectiveness and resiliency for future generations.
Energy storage is the key to unlocking the true potential of renewables, and many operators have specifically identified the need for storage solutions that provide output for eight hours or more to ensure reliable replacement capacity and cost effective constraint and curtailment management.
Maintaining a stable, cost effective and reliable grid
Long duration energy storage (LDES) allows grid operators to time-shift power, storing excess renewable energy when it’s abundant and delivering it precisely when demand peaks, eliminating waste and maximising efficiency.
This is crucial for maintaining a stable, cost effective and reliable grid – making clean energy available even when the sun sets and the wind calms.
Enter Hydrostor, a long duration energy storage developer and operator with projects being deployed globally. Hydrostor has a patented Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage (or A-CAES) technology that delivers clean energy on demand, even when solar and wind power are unavailable.
A-CAES can provide energy for 8-24+ hours, helping to balance supply and demand on the grid, with an operational lifespan of 50+ years with no efficiency degradation. And unlike batteries, there’s no dependence on scarce and imported minerals, or fire safety issues for surrounding communities.
Hydrostor’s technology works by taking renewable energy from the grid when wind and solar might otherwise be curtailed and stores that energy in a cavern deep underground filled with water, in the form of hydrostatic pressure.
When energy is needed, that pressure is released, spinning turbines, generating electricity. Importantly, A-CAES provides additional system benefits that include grid stability, synchronous compensation and frequency management.
All of this is done without burning fuel, and with a footprint up to 1/20th the size of an equivalent pumped hydro facility, making Hydrostor’s tech a fit within many geographies.
Removing equivalent CO2 emissions from 10 million vehicles
A typical A-CAES deployment is 500MW – and that facility can:
- Supply energy to 400,000 homes
- Create up to 700 construction jobs; and
- Abate 45 million metric tons of CO2 over 50 years – Assumes replacement of coal generation exclusively
This is equivalent to removing the same amount of CO2 emissions created by ~200,000 passenger vehicles every year of a facilities lifetime, or ~10 million vehicles over 50 years.
The UK Government’s recent LDES consultation support analysis estimates that £24 billion of savings in network costs will be generated by the installation of 20GW of LDES. With longer energy storage durations creating potential upside to this figure.
Strategic, long-term solutions
Decarbonising our grid while electricity demand continues to grow presents significant challenges and requires more than just ambition – it demands strategic, long-term solutions.
LDES is a critical component in this journey, offering the resiliency, reliability and system cost benefits that are essential to integrate renewable energy at scale.
To truly decarbonise and modernise the grid, we need to rethink energy storage – unlocking the impact and power of long duration energy storage.
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LDES is enabling grid decarbonisation
About Hydrostor
Hydrostor is a global developer and operator of long duration energy storage projects, with a team of dedicated clean energy professionals committed to deploying a commercially proven technology that can reduce carbon pollution at a large scale. The company’s patented Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) technology functions as an underground ‘battery’, utilising mature supply chains and leveraging air, water, rock and gravity to store and release energy. Hydrostor’s A-CAES technology plays an essential role balancing supply and demand in a future powered by 100% renewables, ensuring stable supply even when the wind doesn’t blow, or the sun doesn’t shine. Optimised for delivering energy storage systems ranging from 200-500MW and of 8+ hour duration, A-CAES supports the global transition to renewable energy sources, ensuring a sustainable and resilient power grid worldwide. Hydrostor has a pipeline of projects exceeding 7 GW in North America, Australia, and Europe.
Visit our website to learn more: https://hydrostor.ca/
About the author
Oonagh O’Grady, Vice President, International Origination, Hydrostor
As Vice President of international Origination at Hydrostor, Oonagh is tasked with expanding our presence in key international markets, driving growth and establishing strategic partnerships. Oonagh is an experienced energy and Infrastructure leader with over 15 years’ experience across the full energy value chain. She has previously worked for a FSTE 100 UK-headquartered multinational energy company, focusing on emerging low carbon technologies like CCS and hydrogen in origination, business development and strategic partnership management. She has also held policy roles with EirGrid Ireland’s transmission system operation and work as a consultant with AECOM. Oonagh has a degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering from University College Cork in Ireland, a Masters in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution from King’s College London and an MBA from Smurfit Business School University College Dublin, Ireland.
