1. Siting Analysis for Underwater Compressed Air Energy Storage:
A Case Study in the Gulf of Maine
Gabriel E. Colón Reyes, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
Carson Pete, Ph.D. Student Mentor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Dr. Jon McGowan, Professor Advisor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
1. Objectives
• Find the optimal offshore Underwater Compressed Air Energy Storage
(UW – CAES) locations in the Gulf of Maine when engineering,
environmental, and social parameters are taken into consideration.
• Evaluate the energy storage resource potential for these locations.
• Determine any environmental implications and what species have the
potential to be affected by this technology.
6. References
5. Applications
This project is a leading step in the development of offshore energy storage
technologies in the USA, and in the world. The implementation of this technology
will day represent a way to store and use renewable energy sources, like offshore
wind, more efficiently and effectively.
2. Background
Renewable energy, like offshore wind, has some inherent grid integration
problems due to its intermittent nature and also due to the potential
negative impacts of siting energy facilities with coastal stakeholders. In
order to help with this, UW – CAES is taken into consideration. UW –
CAES has proven to be an effective way to store electrical energy in the
form of compressed air, therefore it could help manage the intermittency
of renewables [1].
Figure 1. Adiabatic UW–CAES process [1].
For this project, ArcGIS, a geospatial analysis program, was used to do a
site suitability analysis in the Gulf of Maine (GoM), and determine the
resource potential for different air compression techniques when
considering engineering, environmental, and siting parameters. These
include: electrical grid interconnect points, water depths, fishing and
protected environmental areas, commercial boating lanes, and recreational
use areas.
M GC
HX HX
T
UW
Storage
Thermal
Storage
3. Methods
Implementation
and Analysis in
ArcGIS
Thermo
Analysis
Weighted
Parameter
Areas
GIS Layers
Social
Environmental
Engineering
Bathymetry
Marine Life
Recreation
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Optimal
Locations
Storage
Resource
Potential
Figure 2. Top-down schematic of research procedure.
Environmental
Implications
This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation under NSF award number 1460461. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of
the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
4. Analysis and Results
Figure 3. The optimal UW–CAES areas in the GoM having a storage density class
greater than 4. These areas were selected based on highest energy storage density
while considering selected parameters and exclusions [2][3].
Region Class 7 Class 6 Class 5 Total
Area
km2
Capacity
GWh
Area
km2
Capacity
GWh
Area
km2
Capacity
GWh
Area
km2
Capacity
GWh
1 0 0 72 306 1,499 4,854 1,571 5,159
2 0 0 987 4,192 4,855 15,720 5,842 19,912
3 0 0 169 718 3,660 11,851 3,829 12,568
4 0 0 14 59 1,960 6,346 1,974 6,405
5 211 1,143 536 2,276 370 1,198 1,117 4,605
Table 1. Adiabatic UW – CAES Capacity for selected cases.
Figure 4. Sightings of North Atlantic Right Whale during Spring [4].
Right Whale
Sightings
Winter Spring Summer Fall
Area 1 10 – 100 10 – 100 1 – 10 1 – 10
Area 2 0 1 – 10 0 0
Area 3 0 10 – 100 10 – 100 0
Table 2. Example of Environmental Siting Implications.
Area 3
Area 1
Area 2
Area 1
1. Kahrobaee, S., & Asgarpoor, S. (n.d.). Optimum planning and operation of compressed air energy storage
with wind energy integration. 2013 North American Power Symposium (NAPS).
2. Maps were created using ArcGIS® software by Esri. ArcGIS® and ArcMap™ are the intellectual property
of Esri and are used herein under license. Copyright © Esri. All rights reserved. For more information
about Esri® software, please visit www.esri.com.
3. Source GIS Map Data: NE-ISO, NREL, NOAA CSC, NGDC and NMSP, Esri, DeLome, GEBCO, U.S.
Census Bureau, USGS, BOEM, and SeaPlan 2012 Northeast Recreational Boater Survey.
4. Right Whale Consortium. North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium Sightings Database, 2010. New England
Aquarium, Boston, MA.