Energy storage and its use with wind power

A simple probabilistic method has been developed to predict the ability of energy storage to accommodate the intermittency of wind-powered generation. This method can estimate the fraction of time the store is empty or full, the amount of wind energy that must curtailed and the amount of electrical demand left unsatisfied by wind power alone. The method can be applied to stand-alone systems or to weak electricity grids where the level of wind powered generation would be limited by network constraints. A wide range of time scales from seconds to months can be accommodated. The method is briefly outlined, and illustrated by example.