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Innovative energy storage tech set for Greater Manchester

Posted: 01 Oct 2015, 11:04
by Mark
http://www.greenintelligence.org.uk/art ... manchester

The UK’s first pre-commercial scale liquid air energy storage (LAES) plant is set to be built in Bury this winter with a 5MW capacity - the largest long-duration energy storage project in the country to date. The innovative storage technology, developed by London-based LAES specialists, Highview Power Storage, will be installed at the Pilsworth landfill facility in Bury, which is run by national waste management firm, Viridor.

LAES technology operates by using excess electricity to drive an air liquifier, allowing liquid air to be stored in an insulated tank at low pressure. When power is required, the liquid air can then be drawn from the tank and pumped into a high pressure gas to drive a generator turbine. The LAES plant under construction will use low-grade waste heat from on-site landfill gas engines to power the energy generation process. The project was awarded £8 million in funding from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to demonstrate the potential of the technology, which can be considered as being similar in capacity to medium-scale pumped hydro-electricity storage but without the geographical and environmental restrictions.

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Re: Innovative energy storage tech set for Greater Mancheste

Posted: 01 Oct 2015, 11:16
by vtsnowedin
Mark wrote:http://www.greenintelligence.org.uk/art ... manchester

The UK’s first pre-commercial scale liquid air energy storage (LAES) plant is set to be built in Bury this winter with a 5MW capacity - the largest long-duration energy storage project in the country to date. The innovative storage technology, developed by London-based LAES specialists, Highview Power Storage, will be installed at the Pilsworth landfill facility in Bury, which is run by national waste management firm, Viridor.

LAES technology operates by using excess electricity to drive an air liquifier, allowing liquid air to be stored in an insulated tank at low pressure. When power is required, the liquid air can then be drawn from the tank and pumped into a high pressure gas to drive a generator turbine. The LAES plant under construction will use low-grade waste heat from on-site landfill gas engines to power the energy generation process. The project was awarded £8 million in funding from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to demonstrate the potential of the technology, which can be considered as being similar in capacity to medium-scale pumped hydro-electricity storage but without the geographical and environmental restrictions.

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Liquefied air at low pressure? Just what do they consider as Low" and at what pressure?Temperature. ?
Edit to switch pressure to temperature. Coffee hasn't kicked in yet this morning.

Posted: 01 Oct 2015, 13:18
by PS_RalphW
As almost always these articles never give you critical information or garble it.

5 MW is presumably peak power generated.

what is the total energy storage in MWh?

What is the energy conversion efficiency (energy out / energy in)
(with out without the free low grade heat for the regasification) ?

What is the build cost £ /MWh?

All critical numbers

Posted: 01 Oct 2015, 13:46
by adam2
I would expect that the liquid air is stored at a pressure only very slightly over atmospheric pressure. Nothing is to be gained by a higher pressure and it would add to the cost of the tank.

These schemes have been proposed previously and I remain doubtful about the economics.

When the air is liquefied a great deal of low temperature heat is produced, and unless some use exists for this heat then it represents waste.

When power is produced, a lot of cold is produced, which again is a waste unless some demand exists for cooling.

Liquid air, liquid nitrogen, and liquid oxygen have a number of industrial uses, and production could probably be combined with liquid air energy storage at a lower cost than two separate plants.

Posted: 01 Oct 2015, 13:47
by adam2
PS_RalphW wrote:As almost always these articles never give you critical information or garble it.
5 MW is presumably peak power generated.
what is the total energy storage in MWh?
What is the energy conversion efficiency (energy out / energy in)
(with out without the free low grade heat for the regasification) ?
What is the build cost £ /MWh?

All critical numbers
Yes