Reliability and economic assessment of compressed air energy storage in transmission constrained wind integrated power system

Bulk-scale energy storage systems (ESS) such as compressed air energy storage (CAES) are considered as viable options to alleviate problems associated with the variability and uncertainty of wind power. The operation strategy of ESS is dictated by the existing market and regulatory structure, which in turn impacts the overall system performance in terms of quality, reliability, efficiency and environmental commitments. A CAES can be operated either independently to maximize the profit in the existing market or in coordination with wind power resources to collectively benefit from the markets while maximizing the usage of renewable energy. This work explores feasible applications and benefits of CAES in a transmission-constrained wind integrated power system. Comprehensive models for wind and CAES operating strategies are developed and potential benefits of CAES to systems are quantified in terms of their contributions to system reliability, efficiency, and environmental objectives. The results presented show the trade-off among different aspects of potential benefits obtained from CAES. The method presented, and the results analyzed can provide valuable input to utilities and policymakers for formulating effective regulatory structures to integrate bulk-scale storage to efficiently support the imminent growth of renewable energy while maintaining reliable supply to electricity consumers.