Utilizing Nitrogen to Store Wind Energy
Funded through Round 5: SMEs only in 2011, Lancaster Wind Systems (LWS) aimed to pilot an energy storage solution that stored and released wind energy to the grid as needed. While the project was ultimately terminated in 2013, the proposed technology represented an innovative method to supply a consistent source of green energy to the grid without the use of expensive batteries.
At the time this project was commissioned, electricity was transferred in a closed circuit and could not be stored. Therefore, even though power plants seemingly generated all the energy needed to supply the grid, any changes in demand could not be accommodated without reducing demand elsewhere. LCWS’s solution aimed to store and control renewable energy from wind and supply base load energy to the grid, allowing the renewable energy to be a viable alternative energy that required no backup. Consisting of three closed-loop systems, the technology used hydraulic pressure to store energy as high-pressure nitrogen. When needed, the pressurized nitrogen would be converted back to hydraulic energy, then electrical energy through hydraulic motors and generators.
Facing Economic Challenges
The LWS Energy Storage Solution Pilot Project aimed to construct and test a scaled prototype of the LWS energy Solution. The prototype was commissioned prior to this project, and the pilot was the next phase of development. During the pilot, LWS had three major goals: the first was to prove that energy can be stored efficiently with this technology; the second was to prove that the stored energy can be used as required efficiently; the third was to prove that the overall efficiency of the LWS storage solution was economically viable. Before any work was completed, the funding relationship was terminated.
What’s next?
Since the funding relationship was terminated in 2013, ERA is not aware of any further work by LWS to develop this technology. Overall, renewable wind energy is derisked in Alberta, and battery storage systems are the most popular solution for storing excess energy generated as opposed to nitrogen storage systems.