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U.S. Department of Energy
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Low-Cost Sulfur Thermal Storage for Increased Flexibility and Improved Economics of Fossil-Fueled Electricity Generating Units (Final Report)

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1870301· OSTI ID:1870301
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [4]
  1. Element 16 Technologies, Inc., Glendale, CA (United States); Element 16 Technologies
  2. Element 16 Technologies, Inc., Glendale, CA (United States)
  3. Worley, Sydney (Australia)
  4. Advisian, Sydney (Australia); Worley, Sydney (Australia)
The US electric grid relies on conventional fossil fuel power plants for reliable and secure power, but these plants suffer from physical and financial strain due to the influx of inexpensive and variable solar and wind electricity. Conventional power plants need to generate electricity flexibly and on-demand to accommodate these renewable resources on the grid. Integrating a low-cost thermal energy storage (TES) gives fossil assets the ability to regulate their output efficiently and optimize the plant operation to maximize revenue in the wholesale electricity market. Element 16’s TES concept uses sulfur, a byproduct of the oil & gas industry, as the storage media that is 10 times cheaper than molten salt used in commercial two-tank TES technology. In this project, the team completed a detailed feasibility and technoeconomic study establishing the impact, cost and performance of molten sulfur TES system integrated with fossil assets.
Research Organization:
Element 16 Technologies, Inc., Glendale, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
DOE Contract Number:
FE0032007
OSTI ID:
1870301
Report Number(s):
DE-FE0032007--Element16-Final-Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English