Energy and Economic Evaluation of a Hybrid Power Plant With Wind Turbines and Compressed Air Energy Storage

A model of a Hybrid Power Plant (HPP) consisting of Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) coupled with a wind farm is presented. This kind of plant aims at overcoming some of the major limitations of wind-generated power plants, including low power density and an intermittent nature owing to variable weather conditions. In CAES, energy is stored in the form of compressed air in a reservoir during off-peak periods and used on demand during peak periods to generate power with a turbo-generator system. Such plants can offer significant benefits in terms of flexibility in matching a fluctuating power demand, particularly when coupled with wind turbines. For the hybrid power plant considered in this study, results show that advantages in terms of economics, energy savings and CO₂ mitigation can be achieved.