Optimization of specific rating for wind turbine arrays coupled to compressed air energy storage

A methodology is presented for jointly optimizing the wind turbine specific rating and the storage configuration for a large-scale wind farm coupled to compressed air energy storage (CAES). By allowing the wind-storage system to be optimized in an integrated, variable rating framework the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) can be reduced substantially. These changes also enhance the capacity factor of the wind farm, reduce the storage capacity requirements of the baseload plant and reduce the greenhouse gas emission rate of the combined system relative to a separately optimized wind farm coupled to CAES. The results of this analysis could have important implications for the competitiveness of large-scale remote wind and the applicability of energy storage as a baseload wind strategy in a carbon constrained world. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.