Applications
ACHIEVING THE VISION
Reliable and Cost-Effective
Whether at a greenfield site or as an upgrade to existing assets, Pintail Power’s technology accelerates your transition towards aggressive sustainability targets.
Long-duration hybrid energy storage (up to 24+ hours) for a range of applications for utilities to facilities.
The initial product line, Liquid Salt Combined Cycle™ (LSCC), uses liquid salt as the storage medium coupled with well-proven off-the-shelf components. With vendor-neutral systems integration and technical services to asset owners and developers via established EPC contractors, LSCC can be deployed at substantially lower cost than alternatives. Novel, patented integration design is what makes LSCC cost-effective and compact with immediate decarbonization impacts.
All configurations improve the reliability and economics of both renewable and conventional generation resources, opportunistically allowing green energy to displace fossil fuel. Our approach increases power, fuel efficiency, storage density, and operating flexibility while avoiding safety, toxicity and environmental issues.
Applications
Transmission Connected Storage
SCALE: 50 MW to 500 MW
Islands and remote locations
SCALE: 10 MW 100 MW
Distribution microgrids
SCALE: 10 MW to 50 MW
Commercial & Industrial Microgrids
SCALE: 5 MW to 250 MW
TRANSMISSION CONNECTED STORAGE
The accelerating deployment of solar and wind power has created operational and financial challenges for thermal generating assets and grid operators and is now also challenging renewable generation. Low asset utilization is an increasing financial challenge for both conventional and renewable assets, which must be curtailed due to over-generation at various times of day.
Integrating large scale thermal energy storage with combustion turbines can transform thermal generation assets into low-carbon resources that deliver capacity and time-shift renewable energy at far lower cost than batteries. As a Liquid Salt Combined Cycle™ (LSCC), these plants provide additional value to the grid including:
- Absorbing over-generation of low-cost renewables to avoid their curtailment, and become a vital grid reliability asset when renewables dominate generation
- Improving fuel heat rate to increase spark spread, reduce GHG emissions, and increase the unit’s dispatch merit to raise capacity factor in high renewable markets
- Maintaining equipment in a warm condition using stored thermal energy, to reduces stresses and enable fast startup.
- Increasing the new power output (for simple cycle add-ons) to provide zero carbon incremental capacity.
The Resource Adequacy role traditionally filled by gas generation can be enhanced by hybrid storage as well. Unlike a 4-hour battery, LSCC can provide affordable long-duration storage (24 hours or more) in compact storage tanks, with both economic and reliability benefits.
- For example, a system with 24 hours of storage could be fully charged over a weekend with excess low-cost renewables and be able to meet capacity needs throughout the week, while opportunistically charging when renewable power is abundant.
- In contrast, a short duration battery would have to recharge using available energy, which might be fossil based, might be higher cost when used during re-charging, and might not be available during a contingency.
By adding storage to existing thermal powerplants, Pintail Power’s technology leverage existing transmission, pipeline, and powerplant assets to reliably integrate more renewables onto the grid.
ISLANDS AND REMOTE LOCATIONS
Islands and remote locations such as mines and military bases have weak or no connections to a larger electrical grid and must be self-sufficient in order to reliably meet electrical demand. Island electricity is expensive because of the need to transport fuel by ship instead of pipeline. Smaller generators are typically less efficient than large generators on the mainland, and they operate at less than full power and efficiency to maintain reserve margins.
Renewable wind and solar resources are an economically and environmentally compelling means to directly offset high cost power produced from high emissions thermal power systems. But high penetration of renewable resources brings a host of operational challenges with respect to voltage and frequency limits. Smaller and isolated grids are particularly sensitive to:
- Local variations in cloud cover or wind speed
- Connection or disconnection of large loads
- Loss of generation due to mechanical or electrical faults
Energy storage is needed to backup the inherent daily variability of renewable resources and to increase renewables by absorbing excess generation. Still, the potential for extended periods of low renewable output makes thermal generation essential for reliability.
The hybrid combination of low-cost thermal energy storage with thermal generation is an optimal solution for islands:
- More energy can be stored at lower cost to enable more renewable penetration on the island.
- As renewable generation and loads fluctuate electric charge heating instantaneously balances supply and demand to maintain frequency, without state-of-charge or rate-of-charge constraints of battery systems.
- During charging, a self-synchronizing clutch disengages the turbine, so the generator can provide voltage control as a synchronous condenser.
- The non-flammable, non-explosive, non-toxic, and long-lifetime storage medium has no need for maintenance or replacement during the life of the plant.
- During discharge, the stored energy synergistically improves efficiency, resulting in the lowest fuel consumption attainable in a dispatchable thermal powerplant.
Pintail Power’s hybrid Liquid Salt Combined Cycle™ can be sized to meet the needs of island powerplants and safely deliver flexibility, reliability, efficiency and affordability.
Distribution microgrids
Microgrids are a group of interconnected loads and distributed resources with a clearly defined electrical connection to the utility grid, and with the ability to continue operating from its own resources when isolated or ‘islanded’ from the grid, and the ability to re-connect to the main grid.
When operating independently, microgrids have many of the same issues and constraints as actual islands [link to Island and Remote applications page]. Utility microgrids are generally isolated for shorter periods of time, for example, to maintain reliable power as a resiliency measure during a temporary transmission outage or Public Safety Power Shutoff.
While the microgrid is isolated from the utility, hybrid energy storage provides the same reliability and efficiency benefits as on islands, while allowing solar PV that is usually grid-connected to continue operating. The long-duration storage assures fuel efficiency overnight and thermal generation can operate when needed and for as long as needed.
During normal operation, the hybrid system functions like transmission connected storage and as a distributed energy resource offers locational value to the utility:
- Relieve transmission congestion
- Provide a low cost reservoir for storing excess renewable energy
- Manage distribution voltage and reverse power flows from grid-connected PV
Pintail Power’s Liquid Salt Combined Cycle™ provides low-carbon dispatchable power to meet capacity and energy needs without transmission losses and with lower fuel consumption and emissions than grid-based generation.
C&I microgrids
Facility energy managers are striving to reduce energy costs and reduce GHGs while assuring reliable supply of power to provide continuous operation of their campus, plant, or data center, which needs heating and cooling in addition to electric power. Privately owned and operated microgrids maintain reliable power as a resiliency measure during a temporary transmission outages or Public Safety Power Shutoffs caused by extreme weather conditions.
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) or cogeneration is a proven strategy for reducing costs by meeting a facility’s thermal and electric demand from a single fuel source. Cogen facilities also pioneered the microgrid concept, by enabling islanding capability to continue operation in the event of a grid outage.
To further reduce GHG emissions, hybrid thermal energy storage enables renewable energy to provide the facilities power and heat, while further improving fuel efficiency, and maintaining the ability to self-generate when the renewables are unavailable. The non-flammable, non-explosive, non-toxic, and long-lifetime liquid salt storage medium has no need for maintenance or replacement improving safety and maintenance concerns.
Facilities can self-generate solar on their campuses, supplemented with low-carbon power from the grid, or for Direct Access customers, from their own contracted renewable power projects.