Pumped Storage Hydropower Augmented with Pressurized Air: The Ground-Level Integrated Diverse Energy Storage (GLIDES) System

Abstract

vi facilities. It is expected that integration of a storage system with a hydropower plant will provide value in (a) facilities challenged by hourly, daily, and seasonal requirements to pass water at inefficient or equipment damaging operating conditions; (b) run-of-river facilities in which the timing of flow and must-run generation is not revenue-optimal; and (c) power system contexts where the localized need for grid services exists due to physical grid conditions or local market conditions.Cost analysis was performed to identify large cost items. It was found that the cost of pressure vessels comprised approximately 90% of the overall hardware cost. Lower cost alternatives were investigated. It was found that pipe segments that are rated for high pressure are the lowest cost option. With pipe segment as pressure vessel, the estimated total GLIDES first hardware cost (including cost of pipe segments, cost of machinery and the cost of piping) ranges between 350 to 750 $/kWh for MW-scale GLIDES . Carbon fiber pressure vessels was second lowest option with total first hardware cost ranging between 2,000 to 3,500 $/kWh. Carbon steel vessels was the highest cost option with total first hardware cost ranging between 4,600 to 8,000 $/kWh. Other unconventional alternatives were also explored. Underground reservoirs such as depleted oil/gas reservoirs, aquifers and caverns are all potential low-cost candidates. Abandoned oil pipelines are also an option for GLIDES. The cost of a GLIDES system that uses depleted oil/gas reservoir as the high-pressure storage was estimated to be 13.6 to 136.91 $/kWh .Technoeconomic analysis was performed to demonstrate the value proposition of GLIDES. Use cases were developed for small-, medium-and large-scale GLIDES systems. Each use case was developed to explore different revenue streams. The small-scale case simulated a 20-kW GLIDES system as a local market trading electricity with both the grid and buildings with PV generation. The model found that a local market GLIDES is profitable while saving the buildings on electric utility bills. The medium-scale use case simulated a GLIDES as storage for a PV-powered EV charging station. A reduced order model to calculate the optimal capacity of a GLIDES system based on the number of charging slots and the average daily rate of EV arrival. The large-scale case simulated GLIDES integrated with 4 cascaded RoR plants in Idaho Falls, Idaho. In this use case simulation, GLIDES can provides value to the plants by allowing them to participate in the grid services market. Four GLIDES systems, 1 MW/4 hours each, were integrated to the four RoR plants. The total first hardware cost of the 4 GLIDES systems was estimated to be almost $11.5M, and a payback period as low as 5 years is possible depending on the price profile of electricity.GLIDES is currently in the commercialization stage. With a successful protype of GLIDES being operated in the laboratory, next steps include conducting an engineering study to take a deeper dive on the potential coupling ...