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What is Molten Salt Storage?

Molten Salt Storage makes continuous power generation from Concentrated Solar Power plants a reality, whether it's 12 noon or 12 midnite! 

A Molten Salt Storage system utilizes hundreds of thousands of gallons of "molten salt."  This salt is not the kind of salt used to sprinkle on your popcorn.  This variety of "molten salt" contains a mixture of 60% sodium nitrate and 40% potassium-nitrate, and is also referred to as "salt-peter" which can be heated to very high temperatures (1000 degrees F).  The heated molten salt is then used for the production of steam which then runs a steam turbine generator or genset, which makes electricity. The gensets can generate power as long as 7 days - running 4-12 hours per day, even as long as one week with little sun light, all thanks to Molten Salt Storage.

What is Battery Energy Storage?

Battery Energy Storage, and Battery Energy Storage systems, use stored electrical power in batteries, and feed this energy to the electric grid (building, or facility) at times when it makes economic sense. For a "Net Zero Energy" building or facility, a Solar Cogeneration, or Solar Trigeneration energy system is used that stores excess solar power in the Battery Energy Storage system during the daytime, for use when the sun goes down, and during inclement weather.

What is Bulk Energy Storage?

Bulk energy storage refers to various methods to "store" electricity within an electrical power grid.

Electrical energy can be stored during times that electrical generation from power plants exceeds the consumption by customers and the stored energy can then be utilized at times when consumption of electricity exceeds generation of electricity. Bulk energy storage permits power generation to be maintained at a more constant level, avoiding the sharp spikes in power generation so that the power plants can be more efficiently operated - reducing fuel consumption thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the Energy Storage Council (www.EnergyStorageCouncil.org), "Bulk energy storage is truly one of the most promising new areas of the electricity industry. The Energy Storage Council believes that bulk energy storage will become the "sixth dimension" of the electricity value chain following fuels/energy sources, generation, transmission, delivery, and customer energy services."

What is Compressed Air Energy Storage?

Compressed Air Energy Storage is one of the emerging "Bulk Energy Storage" technologies for storing energy - typically the energy is generated and stored during off-peak periods, and dispatched to the electric grid during peak demand times. 

One Bulk Energy Storage method is Compressed Air Energy Storage - since the wind doesn't always provide enough energy for wind turbine generators to generate electricity, will store the wind energy when they generate power and "off-peak electricity" to pressurize and store air underground.  The air can be used later, by releasing it to drive generators.

"Bulk energy storage is truly one of the most promising new areas of the electricity industry. The Energy Storage Council believes that bulk energy storage will become the "sixth dimension" of the electricity value chain following fuels/energy sources, generation, transmission, delivery, and customer energy services."  http://www.energystoragecouncil.org/aboutenergystorage.htm

For more information on Bulk Energy Storage, visit:  www.BulkEnergyStorage.com 

The Department of Energy (DOE) is presently working with several states to build Compressed Air Energy Storage parks, which would integrate a 75- to 150-megawatt (MW) wind farms, that are integrated with the Compressed Air Energy Storage parks.   

Before a Compressed Air Energy Storage can be used, the underground caverns that store the wind energy, must be of the right geological size, depth formation and cap rock structure.

Compressed Air Energy Storage Diagram

Compressed Air Energy Storage facilities will operate on off-peak electricity during nighttime hours. They will use the output from nearby wind power plants to operate when overall demand on the power grid is low and the utility dispatcher has curtailed output from the wind power plant. During the energy storage cycle, a compressor pushes air into the porous rock that may be several thousand feet underground and beneath the layers of impermeable cap rock. When demand for electricity rises, the stored air will be released, heated, and used to drive electric generators.

Diagram Courtesy: Imperial College

Compressed Air Energy Storage has been in use for more than 20 years in demonstration projects, and two facilities — one at 290 MW in Huntorf, Germany that began operations in 1978, and another in Alabama, that began operating in 1991. The Compressed Air Energy Storage facility in Alabama is rated at 100 MW.

What is Flywheel Energy Storage?

Flywheel Energy Storage systems act as mechanical batteries that store power kinetically in the form of a rotating mass, or "flywheel."

When the grid goes down, the power stored by the rotating flywheel is converted to electrical energy through the flywheel’s integrated electric generator. The system provides the DC energy to the Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) system until grid power is restored or the facility's back-up power generator can be started. Once either the utility is restored or the genset provides power to the input of the Uninterruptible Power Supplies, the Flywheel Energy Storage system will be re-charged by taking some current from the DC bus of the Flywheel Energy Storage until it is back up to full speed.

What is Frequency Regulation?

The electric grid, because supply and demand of electricity is always changing requires continuous and instantaneous balancing of supply and demand of electricity – this continuous and instantaneous balancing of supply and demand of electricity is known as "frequency regulation."

What is Pumped Hydro Storage?

Pumped hydro storage is a method of storing energy that is generated when the price of electric power is low - and used at a time when the price of power is high. Pumped hydro storage - acts as a battery of sorts, with the ability to deliver electricity on demand. 

Pumped hydro storage works by pumping water from a reservoir that is located at a lower elevation - to a reservoir that is located at a higher elevation - and during the period of time electricity usage is low as well as the price of selling electricity. When the power demand peaks, so does the price of electricity but this also happens to coincide when wind power is not available.  This is when the water that was pumped up to the higher elevation reservoir is released, power is generated from the hydroelectric power plant, and the electricity is then released to the electric grid.

For business development, engineering, marketing or project development, send email to:

info@MoltenSaltStorage.com

Austin, Texas

info@MoltenSaltStorage.com

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