Energy storage tank bag

Can energy bags be used for underwater compressed air storage?

Conclusions This paper has described the design and testing of three prototype Energy Bags: cable-reinforced fabric vessels used for underwater compressed air energy storage. Firstly, two 1.8 m diameter Energy Bags were installed in a tank of fresh water and cycled 425 times.

What is an energy bag?

An Energy Bag is a cable-reinforced fabric vessel that is anchored to the sea (or lake) bed at significant depths to be used for underwater compressed air energy storage. In 2011 and 2012, three prototype sub-scale Energy Bags have been tested underwater in the first such tests of their kind.

Could energy bags be used to store electricity underwater?

In the Bag: Energy bags like this 5-meter-diameter one, from Thin Red Line Aerospace, of Canada, could be used to store electricity underwater as compressed air. Engineers hope the technology could one day smooth out the intermittency of electricity produced by offshore wind farms and other renewable energy sources.

How do energy bags work?

Pictured here in a test tank Seamus Garvey’s energy bags were designed and built by Thin Red Line Aerospace The basic idea of CAES is that excess power on the grid is used in an electric motor to drive a compressor. The compressed air is cooled and stored at pressures of typically 60-70 bar.

How much energy does an energy bag store?

With regard to stored energy, an Energy Bag with height of 40 m and maximum diameter of 40 m (and a volume of 35,705 m 3) would store 200 MWh if anchored at 500 m depth, assuming the most pessimistic expansion strategy was used.

Are energy bags ready for deployment?

However, as a result of the tests presented in this paper, Energy Bags are now well understood, well developed, and proven in real-world conditions, and are ready for deployment at larger scales within a pilot underwater compressed air energy storage plant.