Conceptual Design and Market Assessment of Firebrick Resistance Heated Energy Storage (FIRES) - Avoiding Wind and Solar Electricity Price Collapse to Improve Nuclear, Wind, and Solar Economics

摘要

In liberalized (deregulated) markets, the large-scale deployment of wind or solar energy results in electricity price collapse at times of high wind or solar output to below the price of fossil fuels. This revenue collapse limits economic large-scale use of wind and solar and reduces the revenue for nuclear plants. One approach to limit revenue collapse is to use electricity at times of low electricity prices to heat firebrick to high temperatures, store the heat in firebrick, and blow air through the firebrick to provide hot air as needed to industrial furnaces, kilns, and nuclear air-Brayton power cycles for peak electricity production. The hot air temperature to the furnace or kiln or power cycle is controlled by adding natural gas or cold air to the hot air. Firebrick Resistance-Heated Energy Storage (FIRES) becomes a way to transfer excess energy from the electric sector to the industrial sector or peak electricity production resulting in total lower costs to society. The technology, economics, and revenue implications of FIRES on nuclear, wind and solar are described.