Feasibility study of adiabatic compressed air energy storage in porous reservoirs
Jason P. Czapla A * and M. B. Clennell AA CSIRO, Kensington, WA, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 62 S103-S106 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ21156
Accepted: 23 March 2022 Published: 13 May 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.
Abstract
The Australian electricity sector is undergoing a transformation in which variable renewable energy (VRE) is becoming a dominant generator. VRE sources such as wind and solar have intermittent generation profiles influenced by weather and climate with daily and seasonal variations. To support high penetration rates of VRE, energy storage is required to store energy during times of oversupply and discharge energy during times of under supply. Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) is a promising, economic technology to compliment battery and Pumped Hydro by providing storage over a medium duration (4–12 h). CSIRO and MAN-ES conducted a feasibility study on Adiabatic-CAES (A-CAES) based on the premise of storing compressed air in a permeable subsurface reservoir (i.e. depleted gas reservoir). The design assumptions regarding the storage reservoir are based on previous work conducted on behalf of Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) which consisted of drilling test wells and conducting air injection and withdrawal tests to determine suitability for a 300 MW-10 h facility. The plant design and equipment are based on commercially available components. This work found that A-CAES has the potential to achieve >60% round trip efficiency and provide levelised cost of storage (LCOS) as low as ~A$108/MWh.
Keywords: Compressed Air Energy Storage, energy, energy storage, levelised cost of storage, porous media, power generation, renewable energy, thermodynamic.
Jason Czapla has worked in the resources sector for 20 years and is currently a Principal Research Engineer with CSIRO Energy. Jason holds a Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering (BSME) from Oregon State University and a Doctor of Philosophy, Mechanical Engineering (PhD) from the University of Queensland. |
Ben Clennell leads of the Geodata Analytics Research team at CSIRO Energy, where he has been working for 19 years. He holds a BA in Geology from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Structural Geology from the University of London. Ben has worked extensively on the fluid flow and mechanical properties of reservoir rocks, seal rocks and fault rocks and the petrophysical characterisation of conventional and unconventional reservoirs and CO2 storage sites. |
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