Microgrids, Community Energy Systems, and District Energy, increasingly use intermittent renewable power (solar or wind). As a result, and for flexibility, redundancy & resilience, it is common to include Energy Storage (ES). For an electric-only Microgrid, this usually defaults to batteries. But for systems which involve heating or cooling, Thermal Energy Storage (TES) is often a superior choice vs batteries or other ES options. Data from a recent US DOE report is reviewed, quantifying performance characteristics & costs for ES technologies, including Pumped Hydro, Compressed Air, Flywheels, and 6 different battery chemistries. These are compared to large Chilled Water (CHW) TES, using data from numerous District Cooling applications.
John Andrepont, President, The Cool Solutions Company