Hydrogen energy storage in isolated microgrids with wind generation

Wind is a potential renewable energy source that could help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from combustion systems and reliance on diminishing fossil fuel reserves Technical challenges with wind energy include its intermittency and unpredictability. One solution to these problems is to store energy to allow energy generation to more closely match demand. Flywheels, NaS batteries, and hydrogen storage approaches are potential candidates as energy carriers, especially in micro-grids. In this paper, these storage technologies will be compared in terms of key factors such as energy losses, efficiencies, costs, response times, and lifetimes in order to determine which is optimal for wind energy generation. The electricity load required in the University of Bath and the available wind energy in the local area was selected as a case study. Initial results suggest that batteries and hydrogen are the most appropriate practical storage methods. Further comparisons show that NaS is too expensive for this application relative to hydrogen, due to its limited cycle times reducing its lifetime.