Prefeasibility study on compressed air energy storage systems

A prefeasibility study on compressed air energy storage (CAES) systems was launched in VTT in the course of the year 1990. The study was undertaken partly in the Laboratory of Electrical and Automation Engineering and partly in the Road, Traffic and Geotechnical Laboratory. Information on existing mines in Finland which could be used as storage caverns were collected (part 2). The costs of excavating rock caverns for compressed air storage and those for forming suitable storage caverns in existing mines were also estimated. This information was used in the first (and present) part of the report to calculate the economics of CAES. In the present part (part 1) of the study an analysis of the different possible systems was given following a review of literature on CAES. This was followed by an economic analysis which comprised two separate systems. The first consisted of conventional oil fueled gas turbine plants provided with CAES system. In the second system wind turbines were used to run the compressors which are used in charging the compressed air storage cavern. The results of the current prefeasibility study confirmed the economic attractiveness of the CAES in the first system. Wind turbines still seem, however, to be too expensive to compete with coal power plants. More accurate and straight-forward results could be obtained only in a more comprehensive study.