A Novel Constant-Pressure Pumped Hydro Combined with Compressed Air Energy Storage System

As intermittent renewable energy is receiving increasing attention, the combination of intermittent renewable energy with large-scale energy storage technology is considered as an important technological approach for the wider application of wind power and solar energy. Pumped hydro combined with compressed air energy storage system (PHCA) is one of the energy storage systems that not only integrates the advantages but also overcomes the disadvantages of compressed air energy storage (CAES) systems and pumped hydro energy storage systems to solve the problem of energy storage in China’s arid regions. Aiming at the variable working conditions of PHCA system technology, this study proposes a new constant-pressure PHCA. The most significant characteristics of this system were that the water pump and hydroturbine work under stable conditions and this improves the working efficiency of the equipment without incurring an energy loss. In addition, the constant-pressure PHCA system was subjected to energy and exergy analysis, in expectation of exploring an attractive solution for the large-scale storage of existing intermittent renewable energy.