Performance assessment of a CAES system integrated into a gas-steam combined plant

In the present paper, the performance of an energy storage concept based on the integration of a Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) system into a Gas Steam Combined Cycle (GSCC) plant is investigated. CAES systems featured by different design power output have been coupled with a commercially available small size GSCC plant. Storage efficiencies around 63% have been evaluated for CAES design power output ranging from 5 to 10 MW. Such encouraging values, together with other CAES good features (long life duration and established technologies available for key plant components) confirm the potential of the proposed system to emerge as an economically viable energy storage alternative.