Long-Duration Energy Storage to Firm Windpower

It’s not a screaming panic, but nevertheless, every ton of CO₂ and other greenhouse gasses (GHG) that we do not pump into the air now will be one less we need to deal with in the future. Also as more catastrophic effects of climate change emerge, we are likely to feel an urgency similar to a screaming panic.

So the subject of this post is important. The primary issue is, Large Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) based on Lithium-Ion (LiIon) technology like Tesla’s Megapack are ideal for a 4-hour run-time and thus mitigating most of the variability of photovoltaic (PV) generation. PV emits very little GHG, and when paired with LiIon BESS can cover most of the daily energy demand (at least where I live in Northern California), but not the much lower night-time demand after 9:00 PM.

In this paper we will look at candidates for the role of mitigating wind-power and examples of other long-term power deficits needing a long-term storage solution.