Electric Power Research Institute working with NYPA on thermal energy storage pilot

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is working with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to explore the use of crushed-rock thermal energy storage (TES).

This technology may help the state transition from fossil fuels to at least 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030.

This joint project, funded by a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, will investigate the feasibility of a thermal energy storage (TES) technology developed by Brenmiller Energy. The project participants are also funding $50,000 each. The goal is to develop a pilot at NYPA’s Eugene W. Zeltmann Power Project in Astoria, N.Y.

“Investing in research and development to improve energy storage is critical at this moment in time,” Neva Espinoza, EPRI vice president of Energy Supply and Low-Carbon Resources, said. “Innovations in energy storage will contribute to a grid that is both reliable and resilient. This is essential to reaching a cleaner energy future, and we look forward to working with NYPA on this feasibility study.”

The continued growth in renewable sources, like wind and solar, highlight opportunities for energy storage to increase grid flexibility and ensure reliability.

“Integrating energy storage is key if we want to make the most of the increasing use of renewable energy resources such as solar and wind,” Alan Ettlinger, NYPA’s senior director of Research, Technology Development and Innovation, said. “This collaboration with EPRI could potentially perfect an environmentally friendly solution that would provide large-scale, longer-duration energy storage that would ultimately help renewable energy compete with fossil fuels.”

Brenmiller, a manufacturer of thermal energy storage systems, has patented a high-temperature crushed-rock TES system, which is being tested at separate sites globally. As with other energy storage technologies, the system stores excess energy, in this case thermal energy, to be used later during peak demand periods.

The first phase of the project is a feasibility study on integrating the crushed-rock thermal energy storage into a range of fossil generation assets. This is expected to be complete in early 2022. After that, a plan would be developed to evaluate operating conditions and demonstrate the technology’s ability to provide effective and economical energy storage at a natural gas combined cycle plant. Further, it will evaluate the cost and performance of Brenmiller’s TES technology to support commercial-scale deployment by 2030.