Energy storage for improvement of wind power characteristics

Results from simulation of the influence of energy storage on the variability and availability of wind energy are presented here. Simulations have been done using a mathematical model of energy storage implemented in MATLAB. The obtained results show the quality improvement, of energy delivered by a combination of wind and energy storage, in relation to the size of the energy storage. The introduction of storage enables suppression of wind power fluctuations up to a timescale proportional to the storage energy capacity. Energy storage cannot provide availability of wind power at all times, but it can guarantee that a certain fraction of average wind power will be available within a given timeframe. The amount of storage energy capacity necessary for significant improvement of wind power availability, within a given period, is found to be approximately 20% of the energy produced in that period. The necessary storage power is found to be approximately equal to the average wind power of that same period.