Distensible air accumulators as a means of adiabatic underwater compressed air energy storage

Abstract

In the near future, the electricity industry is likely to face historically significant changes. The onset of distributed generation, micro and smart grids will change the entire structured industry. An influx of intermittent renewable generators will make traditional grid balancing notably more difficult. The novel concept of underwater compressed air energy storage is a potentially promising solution that may be used to meet these challenges, especially during the current period of electrical infrastructure renewal and modernisation. Early results from a Lake Ontario Pilot Study point to the potential viability of the concept.