Cost-Effective, High-Efficiency 70 MW Energy Storage Plant Based on Patented Pressurized Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) Technology Has Lower Cost of Energy Compared to Battery Energy Storage Systems

摘要

Expansion Energy LLC's patented "VPS Cycle" technology converts surplus grid power into moderate-pressure liquefied air stored in above-ground cryogenic tanks, which is later converted back into power during peak demand periods through an innovative, highly efficient discharge process. In addition to being a liquid air energy storage (LAES) system, the VPS Cycle is a new type of advanced combined cycle power generation plant which does not use water or steam for its bottoming cycle and which has significantly higher thermal efficiency (72%+) versus standard combined cycle power plants (55-60%). The VPS Cycle effectively utilizes waste cold and waste heat from within the power cycle to generate significantly more power by incorporating a patented Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) process. This ability to convert more of the potential energy stored in the moderately pressurized cryogenic liquid air into electricity results in a substantially higher “round-trip efficiency” (RTE) than other LAES cycles and other bulk power storage systems, as high as 90%+. Discharge times can be 2-10 hours per day. Scales range from 10 MW to 500+ MW. Using industry-standard economic methodologies, it has been determined that the VPS Cycle has the lowest Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of any power storage system available today. VPS’s LCOE is typically $125-$135/MWh versus $200-$400/MWh for compressed air energy storage (CAES); $185-$275/MWh for pumped hydro; and $350- $750/MWh for lithium ion batteries (in each case assuming a power “charging” price of $50/MWh). VPS’s LCOE is also lower than simple-cycle peaker plants ($220- $300/MWh). The VPS Cycle technology is presently being considered for commercial deployments by several large North American utilities. One 70 MW VPS project is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by > 10 million metric tons over its lifetime and to stimulate > 200 MW of new wind power as the VPS plant's "charging" (liquefaction) electricity source. In addition to stand-alone VPS plants deployed on the grid, the integration of the VPS technology “behind-the-meter” at industrial facilities that have some amount of waste heat and/or surplus cryogenic fluid (especially liquid nitrogen or liquid oxygen from air separation plants) which can be utilized by the Cycle are particularly attractive, both for technical/efficiency reasons and for optimal economics. VPS integrations can also convert gas-fired peaker plants into daily, long-duration energy storage plants with approximately 2X the efficiency of the peaker itself and with no additional greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).