Chapter 6: Generating Resources and Energy Storage Technologies
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Sixth Northwest Conservation and Electric Power Plan Chapter 6: Generating Resources and Energy Storage Technologies Summary of Key Findings .............................................................................................................. 2 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Generating Resource Applications & Services ............................................................................... 9 Energy ......................................................................................................................................... 9 Firm Capacity............................................................................................................................ 12 Regulation and Load-following ................................................................................................ 13 Combined Heat and Power ....................................................................................................... 14 Distributed Generation .............................................................................................................. 16 Hydroelectric Power ..................................................................................................................... 16 Existing Hydropower System ................................................................................................... 17 Integrating Fish & Wildlife and Power Planning ................................................................. 17 New Hydropower Development ............................................................................................... 19 New Hydropower Projects .................................................................................................... 19 Upgrades to Existing Hydropower Projects .......................................................................... 19 Non-hydro Renewable Energy Resources .................................................................................... 19 Biofuel....................................................................................................................................... 19 Landfills ................................................................................................................................ 20 Agricultural and Food Wastes .............................................................................................. 20 Waste Water Energy Recovery ............................................................................................. 21 Woody Residue ..................................................................................................................... 21 Pulping Chemical Recovery ................................................................................................. 22 Geothermal Power Generation .................................................................................................. 22 Conventional Geothermal Power Generation ....................................................................... 23 Enhanced Geothermal Power Generation ............................................................................. 23 Marine Energy .......................................................................................................................... 24 Ocean Currents ...................................................................................................................... 24 Thermal Gradients ................................................................................................................ 24 Salinity Gradients.................................................................................................................. 24 Tidal Energy.......................................................................................................................... 25 Wave Energy ......................................................................................................................... 25 Solar .......................................................................................................................................... 26 Photovoltaics ......................................................................................................................... 26 Solar Thermal Power Plants .................................................................................................. 27 Wind .......................................................................................................................................... 28 Waste Heat Energy Recovery ....................................................................................................... 30 Fossil Fuels ................................................................................................................................... 31 Coal ........................................................................................................................................... 31 Coal-fired Steam-electric Plants ........................................................................................... 32 Coal-fired Gasification Combined-cycle Plants ................................................................... 33 Natural Gas ............................................................................................................................... 34 Natural Gas Supply and Price ............................................................................................... 34 Natural Gas Generating Technologies .................................................................................. 35 Petroleum .................................................................................................................................. 38 1 Chapter 6: Generating Resources and Energy Storage Technologies Sixth Power Plan Petroleum Coke ......................................................................................................................... 38 Nuclear .......................................................................................................................................... 39 Energy Storage Technologies ....................................................................................................... 40 Compressed Air Energy Storage ............................................................................................... 41 Flow Batteries ........................................................................................................................... 42 Pumped-storage Hydropower ................................................................................................... 42 Sodium-sulfur Batteries ............................................................................................................ 43 Summary of Reference Plant Characteristics ............................................................................... 43 SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS Generating resource development will be driven by the need for reliable, economic, and low- carbon energy supplies, supplemented as needed with firm capacity to maintain system reliability and to provide balancing reserves to complement variable-output energy resources. Economical and reliable low-carbon energy generation resources available in abundance in the near-term (2010 - 2015) include “local”1 wind and natural gas combined-cycle plants. These technologies are commercially mature, economically competitive and relatively easy and quick to develop. Energy from these resources costs from about $90 - $110 per megawatt-hour2. Other low-to-moderate carbon energy generation resources available in the near-term, but in limited quantities include bioresidue energy recovery projects, natural gas and bioresidue cogeneration, conventional geothermal, new hydropower and energy from upgraded existing hydropower projects. These resources are commercially mature and in many cases economically competitive. They are, however, often small and challenging to develop. Solar photovoltaics, while commercially mature, low-carbon, easy to develop, and available in large quantity, is very expensive. Wind power in the Northwest has relied on the existing surplus of firm capacity and balancing reserves. Continued wind development and other variable-output energy resources (wave power, tidal current power, and solar photovoltaics) will eventually require adding firm capacity and balancing reserves to maintain the reliable operation of the power system. Simple- and combined-cycle gas turbines, reciprocating engine-generators, compressed air energy storage, flow batteries, pumped storage hydropower, and sodium-sulfide batteries can provide firm capacity and balancing reserves. Further analysis is needed to identify the best alternatives for the Northwest for these technologies, as well as transmission operation efficiencies and smart grid opportunities (see Chapter 12 and Appendix K). In the medium-term (2015 - 2020), remote resources could be accessed via expansions to the transmission system. These include wind from Montana, Alberta or Wyoming and concentrating solar power from Nevada and other Southwest areas. These resources are typically 40 to 100 percent more expensive than comparable local resources because of the transmission investment and low transmission load factor. The “lumpiness,” capital cost, and lead time of the transmission adds investment risk to these options. 1 “Local” wind refers to wind power that does