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Title: Superconducting magnetic energy storage

Conference ·
OSTI ID:7037826

Long-time varying-daily, weekly, and seasonal-power demands require the electric utility industry to have installed generating capacity in excess of the average load. Energy storage can reduce the requirement for less efficient excess generating capacity used to meet peak load demands. Short-time fluctuations in electric power can occur as negatively damped oscillations in complex power systems with generators connected by long transmission lines. Superconducting inductors with their associated converter systems are under development for both load leveling and transmission line stabilization in electric utility systems. Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) is based upon the phenomenon of the nearly lossless behavior of superconductors. Application is, in principal, efficient since the electromagnetic energy can be transferred to and from the storage coils without any intermediate conversion to other energy forms. Results from a reference design for a 10-GWh SMES unit for load leveling are presented. The conceptual engineering design of a 30-MJ, 10-MW energy storage coil is discussed with regard to system stabilization, and tests of a small scale, 100-KJ SMES system are presented. Some results of experiments are provided from a related technology based program which uses superconducting inductive energy storage to drive fusion plasmas.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
OSTI ID:
7037826
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-78-1345; CONF-780714-1
Resource Relation:
Conference: Symposium on advanced technologies for storing energy, Chicago, IL, USA, 10 Jul 1978
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English