(Isothermal) Compressed-Air System Could Aid Wind Power [View All]

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http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/37896/?p1=A4

Energy

Compressed-Air System Could Aid Wind Power

A startup says its compressed-air technology could do a better job of storing the power generated by wind turbines.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011 | By Prachi Patel

http://www.sustainx.com/index.html">SustainX, a startup in West Lebanon, New Hampshire, has received $20 million in venture capital to test its compressed-air energy storage technology on a large scale.

The technology could allow for a wider use of compressed-air storage, which in turn could make renewable energy more attractive, since it would allow wind power generated at night to be stored until daylight hours, when http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/26247/">demand is higher. If it's successful, the technology could decrease the need to build natural gas plants to supply peak power demand.

The need for storage is http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/37699/">increasing as governments mandate the use of http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/32383/">more renewable energy. SustainX has demonstrated a 40-kilowatt prototype and is now completing a one-megawatt system, slated to be deployed next year with the power company AES.

In conventional compressed-air storage, electricity is used to compress air, which is stored in underground caverns or aquifers. That air is then released to drive a turbine-generator to produce electricity when needed. Such storage costs roughly a tenth of what battery storage costs, but it isn't used much because in large part because it requires a location with underground storage space. SustainX's system eliminates this problem because it can efficiently use above-ground storage tanks rather than caverns.

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