Concept study of wind power utilizing direct thermal energy conversion and thermal energy storage

Present wind power is intermittent and cannot be used as the baseload energy source. Concept study of wind power utilizing direct thermal energy conversion and thermal energy storage named Wind powered Thermal Energy System (WTES) is conducted. The thermal energy is generated from the rotating energy directly at the top of the tower by the heat generator, which is a kind of simple and light electric brake. The rest of the system is the same as the tower type concentrated solar power (CSP). The cost estimation suggests that the energy cost of WTES is less than that of the conventional wind power, which must be supported by the backup thermal plants and grid enhancement. The light heat generator reduces some issues of wind power such as noise and vibration. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.