2Department of Engineering and Applied Physics, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, 23000, Morocco
Abstract
Due to the growth of population, the energy needs have increased. To address this rise of demand, the increase of share of renewable energy in the energy mix is the solution since it is a sustainable, unlimited and zero greenhouses’ emissions source. However, these resources are characterized by their intermittency. To solve this problem, we need to store the additional energy. One of the most promising technologies is compressed air storage, it has proven useful to store energy during off-peak hours and to reproduce it during peak hours. This paper investigates the feasibility of a hybrid power generation system consisting of a photovoltaics system combined with a compressed air energy storage. The hybrid power system address to compare the system feasibility with and without the energy storage option. The hybrid system is intended to supply power to a water treatment plant. The analysis of the energy profile including consumption, generation, and storage, was performed. The influence of the air storage temperature on the levelized cost of storage and the dependence on the grid energy was studied. The effects of ambient temperature and compressor pressure ratio on various system parameters, such as mass air flow in and out, and system efficiency, have been investigated. The result shows that when the storage temperature is increased from 300 to 800°C, the levelized cost of storage benefit is 0.025$/kWh. The system efficiency decreased from 70% to 28% when increasing the pressure ratio from 2 to 30, while keeping the ambient temperature constant at 300°K. Conversely, it increased from 60% to 64% when raising the ambient temperature from 295°K to 320°K while maintaining the pressure ratio at 3.