Compressed Air Energy Storage

Electrical Energy Storage (EES) refers to a process of converting electrical energy from a power network into a form that can be stored for converting back to electrical energy when needed [1-3]. Such a process enables electricity to be produced at times of either low demand, low generation cost or from intermittent energy sources and to be used at times of high demand, high generation cost or when no other generation is available[1-9].The history of EES dates back to the turn of 20th century, when power stations often shut down for overnight, with lead-acid accumulators supplying the residual loads on the then direct current (DC) networks [2-4]. Utility companies eventually recognised the importance of the flexibility that energy storage provides in networks and the first central station energy storage, a Pumped Hydroelectric Storage (PHS), was in use in 1929[2][10-15]. Up to 2011, a total of more than 128 GW of EES has been installed all over the world [9-12]. EES systems is currently enjoying somewhat of a renaissance, for a variety of reasons including changes in the worldwide utility regulatory environment, an ever-increasing reliance on electricity in industry, commerce and the home, power quality/quality-of-supply issues, the growth of renewable energy as a major new source of electricity supply, and all combined with ever more stringent environmental requirements[34][6]. These factors, combined with the rapidly accelerating rate of technological development in many of the emerging electrical energy storage systems, with anticipated unit cost reductions, now make their practical applications look very attractive on future timescales of only years. The anticipated storage level will boost to 10~15% of delivered inventory for USA and European countries, and even higher for Japan in the near future[4][10].