Wind Power Plus Stored Energy

The Iowa Stored Energy Plant (ISEP) will be the first plant in the world that will use energy from a wind farm plus supplemental off peak electricity to produce compressed air to be stored in an underground aquifer until it is need to produce electricity on demand.  When demand for electricity is high, the air will be released and used in combination with a small amount of natural gas to drive combustion turbines to generate electricity.  Wind power is undependable and not always available when needed, compressed air energy storage (CAES) mitigates this intermittency.  This method will save one-third to one-half the natural gas that would otherwise be needed. CAES has been used in Alabama and Germany, but at these locations the energy for storage does not come from wind.

A separate section of the underground aquifer will also be used for storing natural gas. Gas storage will allow the facility and other gas utilities to buy natural gas when prices are lower. This type of gas storage is widely used in the U.S.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations committee, announced on November 24 that he secured $1.5 million for the development of ISEP in the final FY 2006 Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Bill.  This money will be used to fund further studies, DOE contracts for studies are nearly complete.

Plans are to build a 200MW CAES and a 100 MW wind farm.  ISEP plans to have the plant in completed 3 years from final approval, operation is currently anticipated to be in 2010.

Resources:

Iowa Stored Energy Plant to deliver Wind Energy on Demand, The Messenger, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Nov 24, 2005
ISEP Project Review and Update, May, 2005
Iowa Stored Energy Project (ISEP), website
Transforming Wind-power into a Reliable Resource, ISEP fact sheet, February 2003

More blogs about wind power, natural gas, alternative energy, renewable, renewable energy, energy

Comments

[khays]

Interesting way to deal with the intermittency issue. I'm no engineer, but between diesel auxilary generators, wind to hydrogen, and CAES, I'll take CAES hands down.

[JesseJenkins]

The other promising way to deal with intermitency or to peak shave wind production would be flow batteries like the vanadium-redox flow battery. Look for more on flow batteries soon from my blog.

[JesseJenkins]

Also, here's a general link on flow batteries (a great site for energy storage information of all kinds)

[George]

CAES has a lot of potential even with conventional generation as off peak power can be stored for peak usage cheaper than current peaking generation. Ridge Energy has some projects in the Houston area. If conventional plants implement CAES, the technology will improve and costs will drop much faster.

http://www.ridgeenergystorage.com/

[Justin de Smit]

I just want everyone to know about a new technology; that no one has ever herd of or considered in any variable in any economic model in the entire world.
The mag-wind 1100, www.mag-wind.com is the newest VAWT windmill, set for production in Texas; a production capacity of 3000 to 3500 next year.
This thing is amazing; it puts out 5000 watts at 28 mph wind.
But thus far their is no information on any such tests, and their are statistics anywhere? And it; I guess made its introduction last Friday in Texas? But I cant find anywhere, in any paper in Texas that it actually did?
If this is true, I cannot even imagine the marginal propensity on the micro scale, the marginal economic efficiency gains this machine could put out, and the marginal benefits to the economy.
If anyone, anywhere can find an article to prove this actually exits, and then please email me in Canada; I’d love to find more!!

[David Zukerman]

We are particularly interested in VAT type of wind energy. Namely for Tract housing or small (small) business. Do you have an opinion on this type unit.
Propeller type (Horizontal) will never be acceptable by most homeowners. What we have in mind is an acceptable esthetic unit that can be installed on rooftops or adjacent to structure. Do you have any information RE: Mag-wind 1100?
Thank you for your input.
David Zukerman
Protolytes

[Kevin Lucas]

It was spring in the old west. The cowboys rode the still snow-choked trails looking for cattle that survived the winter. As one cowboy's horse went around the narrow trail, it came upon a rattlesnake warming itself in the spring sunshine. The horse reared and the cowboy drew his six-gun to shoot the snake.

"Hold on there, partner," said the snake, "don't shoot - I'm an enchanted rattlesnake, and if you don't shoot me, I'll give you any three wishes you want."

The cowboy decided to take a chance. He knew he was safely out of the snake's striking range. He said, "OK, first, I'd like to have a face like Clark Gable, then, I'd like a body like Arnold Schwarzenagger, and finally, I'd like sexual equipment like this horse I'm, riding."

The rattlesnake said, "All right, when you get back to the bunk house you'll have all three wishes."

The cowboy turned his horse around and galloped at full speed all the way to the bunk house. He dismounted on the run and went straight inside to the mirror. Staring back at him in the mirror was the face of Clark Gable. He ripped the shirt off his back and revealed bulging, rippling muscles, just like Arnold Schwarzenagger's.

Really excited now, he tore down his jeans, looked at his crotch and shouted, "My God, I forgot I was riding the Mare!".

[Margirita]

STORING WIND IS WEIRD.
I DO NO UNDERSTAND.
BUT YEAHH. WHATEVER

[Bob Wallace]

Hey Jim!!!

Take some responsibility for your discussion forum and work up a moderator system.

It ain't rocket science.... ;o)

(And fix the log in system so that we don't have to play the alphabet game. Or tell me what I'm doing wrong that's not letting me log in.)

[Kit P]

Jim, I will be happy to take responsibility for what I read at the small risk of being offended or irritated. I do like your wide variety of energy topics. No censorship needed.

If Bob Wallace is looking for a moderated web sites I will be happy to tell him where to go. To start with, some of the links on this web site.

Margirita, succinctly put. ISEP is a gas fired power plant. From a DOE news release,

“During times of peak power demand, the compressed air will be supplied to 200 megawatts of combustion turbines that are fired with natural gas, allowing the turbines to operate at high efficiencies.”

I can understand the confusion. From the ISEP web site, “The Iowa Stored Energy Park (ISEP) will simply harvest the wind's energy and store it for future use.”

[JoeBob]

Ah, isn't that sweet. Kit plays nice!

Kit, everyone here knows it is YOU who has practically ruined this site with your constant personal attacks. Just what do you expect to accomplish by calling people "stupid," "dishonest," "idiots," etc.?

No one else here does that! Only you. You come across as a bitter old man, only interested in p*ssing on everyone's corn flakes, because no one will acknowledge your obviously superior intellect. Not only do you negate any usefulness you may have to the world through your vitriol, you ruin the discussion for everyone else too. I for one have essentially stopped posting because of your ridiculous bickering.

It's a shame, really, because you actually may have knowledge and experience that would allow you to contribute in meaningful ways. But until you stop the personal attacks, your efforts to educate will not only fail, they will be counterproductive. As can be seen in the replies to your comments, you will continually be dismissed as a crackpot who does not play well with others, until and unless you change your ways.

I suggest you do a little study of the Art of Persuasion (rhetoric), starting with a little Aristotle. Then you might be able to change your ways, and actually make a contribution to society in your golden years.

[KAtie]

Wind Power

Wind power is the form of converting wind energy into electricity, using wind turbines. Wind turbines are basically wind generators that rotate and spin when wind passes through them. Throughout rural America, the multi-bladed wind turbine sitting on a lattice tower was a very common fixture of landscape in the area. The modern wind turbine was developed in the 1980’s and the aesthetics are still being improved today.
Wind power has been used for at least 5,500 years to propel sailboats and to provide natural ventilation systems in many homes and buildings.
When the water-pumping windmill was invented and used in the United States, it allowed farming and ranching in very rural and vast areas by providing accessible water.
The distribution of wind speed is very important. Since the strength of wind varies in different areas and at different times, it is not consistent enough to have a constant turning of a wind turbine. To make wind power more consistent, storage technologies have to be used. So when there is a lot of wind, the turbine stores it and uses it when the amount of wind is not sufficient.
Wind turbines have been used for household electricity generation using battery storage for a long period of time in rural or remote areas. As well as household use, a wind turbine can also power equipment such as parking meters or wireless Internet gateways by charging a small battery.
The theoretical potential of utilizing wind energy is that the wind power available in the atmosphere is much greater than the current world energy consumption. However the limit of wind power available to be used will be set by economic and environmental factors. The resource available is much bigger than any practical ways to development.
Some of the costs of running these turbines must be taken into account. Wind energy has the opportunity to be more competitive because costs have generally decreased due to technology development. People that support wind turbines argue that once external costs decrease and electrical production is accounted for, wind energy will be amongst the most least costly forms of electrical production.
Some environmental effects of wind turbines are that they consume no fuel and they have no emissions directly related to electricity production. They do not emit any carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, mercury, particles, or any air pollution. When the turbine is constructed it is made out of steel, concrete, aluminum, and other materials, that in the future, will be made and transported using energy intensive processes.
The main complaint of wind turbines is the danger to birds. About one bird dies per year per turbine. However cars alone kill 10 million birds per year. Studies show the number of birds killed by wind turbines is negligible compared to the number that die as a result of other human related activities such as traffic, hunting, power lines, and high rise buildings, and especially the environmental impacts of non-clean power sources. Another study shows that birds are over 10,000 times more likely to be killed by other human related causes than by a wind turbine.

-wikipedia

[Don Bartell]

this interest me...i very good solution isnt..

i have search a link that distribute wind power just in your very own homes.. and by this we may conserve energy and also save more money by producing our own wind power energy..

check my link for more info..

http://www.windpowercost.org/

[gerry thompson]

this site is a blast..it has mini course about wind turbines..and i can wait to have my wind turbine..thanks Don..

http://www.windpowercost.org/

[chester jacob]

Wind Power is the answer to one of our financial problems.

check this site also...

http://www.windpowercost.org/

[chester jacob]

if you are interested in learning exactly how to generate power and reduce your bill then this is the perfect resource for you!

http://www.windpowercost.org/

[don bartell]

Wind Turbines produce FREE power!
It is environmentally safe to use. The thought of no longer paying for your electrical bills is very enticing!
We have been using electricity our entire lives. We use it at home, at the office and at school. Everywhere we go, electricity plays a big role.

This is perhaps one of the biggest businesses around today. But lately, electricity cost in on the rise.

[Rob Thurnham]

I do like wind power, but wind farm's are so unsightly i would like to see more use of undersea turbine's that produce energy from ocean current's.
Rob beat maker Thurnham