Sunday, September 1, 2013

Energy Storage Application 5: Reserve support, Blackout and Blackstart

Though characterized by high levels of reliability, generation and transmission equipment is never 100% reliable. Considered to be the backbone of New York City’s electric grid, the Ravenswood No 3., 1000 MW power generator, known as Big Allis, has experienced numerous (sometimes famous) failures since it was originally commissioned in 1965. Though there have been many power failures in New York City since 1965, their number has been far less than the number of incidents where Big Allis has been out of commission due to maintenance or failure (Schewe, 2006). This is due to the fact that utilities, like KeySpan in New York City, maintain reserve power generation capacity to compensate for scheduled and unscheduled equipment down time. Often this reserve capacity is 15%-20% of the normal electric supply capacity (Eyer & Corey, 2010). Compared to reserve generation capacity that must be kept online or spinning (consuming fuel without generating electricity), energy storage can provide reserve capacity that is readily available without consuming fuel.
Energy storage can also be used as a means of power generation during a blackout. While grid operators attempt to restore power, energy storage devices can be used to provide power rapidly when needed. Another benefit of energy storage devices is that unlike traditional generators, an energy storage device does not typically need significant power to be fed back into the device to begin operating (Baxter, 2006). After a complete shutdown large generation plants require electricity to be fed back into the plant during the “blackstart” phase until they can start to generate their own electricity. Energy storage is an ideal candidate for providing this blackstart capability (Baxter, 2006). 

Works Cited

Baxter, R. (2006). Energy Storage; A Nontechnical Guide. Tulsa, Oklahoma: PennWell Corporation.
Eyer, J., & Corey, G. (2010). Energy Storage for the Electricity Grid: Benefits and Market Potential Assessment Guide. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Sandia National Laboratories.

Schewe, P. F. (2006). The Grid: A Journey Through the Heart of Our Electrified World. Washington D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.

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