Cryogenic storage offers hope for renewable energy (BBC) {among other things}
By Yasmin Ali
Science reporter
10 December 2016
The world's largest cold energy storage plant is being commissioned at a site near Manchester.
The cryogenic energy facility stores power from renewables or off-peak generation by chilling air into liquid form.
When the liquid air warms up it expands and can drive a turbine to make electricity.
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Electricity demand varies, influenced by factors like time of day and season. The National Grid is prepared for surges in demand, with power stations on stand-by ready to crank up the power.
However, dealing with these peaks and troughs will become increasingly difficult as coal-fired power stations close down and more intermittent renewable energy like wind and solar comes online. In 2015 renewables provided almost a quarter of UK electricity.
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more: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37902773
As noted in the body of the article, this is useful for any off-peak generation; there is nothing about it which is really specific to renewables. But increasing reliance on renewables -- which are more intermittent (think solar, wind) than traditional power sources -- is driving increased development of such load-leveling systems, hence the headline. Also, it's very useful for capturing waste heat from power-generation plants -- nice example in the article.
Interesting that I haven't heard much about this before now. I guess it's not glamorous enough -- just good old dirt-under-the-nails engineering, which happens to tweak higher efficiency out of existing technology.
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