The significant growth of renewable energy has resulted in significant challenges for existing power generation facilities coping with the variable nature of said renewables. The variability strains grid management resources and has led to an increased requirement for off-design operation of power generation sources as intermittent or cyclic. This results in increased maintenance costs and loss of revenue. This Small Business Innovation Research project seeks to develop modelling tools that facilitate integration of energy storage systems with fossil-fueled generation. The objective of the model will be to identify cost- effective ways of coupling energy storage with fossil-fueled power plants, improving the assets resilience and compatibility with renewable energy. In Phase I of the project, the focus will be on developing the modelling tools based on the IDAES platform (DOE-NETL) and optimizing integration of energy storage with a novel coal-fired plant of the future known as the hybrid gas coal combustion concept. The proposed technology will provide power generation utilities the most economic option for addressing changes in grid operation from the penetration of renewable energy. It will identify the technologies most compatible with their assets that maximize returns. Coupling of energy storage systems with power generation will also reduce the cost of increased renewable penetration by improving grid stability between existing and new resources.
