Can solar power generation be stored in superconducting form

What is superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES)?

A sample of a SMES from American Magnetics (Reference: windpowerengineering.com) Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage is a new technology that stores power from the grid in the magnetic field of a superconducting wire coil with a near-zero energy loss. The device’s major components are stationary, making it extremely stable.

What are the advantages of superconducting magnetic energy storage?

There are various advantages of adopting superconducting magnetic energy storage over other types of energy storage. The most significant benefit of SMES is the minimal time delay between charge and discharge. Power is practically instantly available, and very high power output can be delivered for a short time.

What is magnetic energy storage in a short-circuited superconducting coil?

An illustration of magnetic energy storage in a short-circuited superconducting coil (Reference: supraconductivite.fr) A SMES system is more of an impulsive current source than a storage device for energy.

Why is energy storage important?

Renewable energy utilization for electric power generation has attracted global interest in recent times , , . However, due to the intermittent nature of most mature renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, energy storage has become an important component of any sustainable and reliable renewable energy deployment.

How is energy stored in a SMES system?

In SMES systems, energy is stored in dc form by flowing current along the superconductors and conserved as a dc magnetic field . The current-carrying conductor functions at cryogenic (extremely low) temperatures, thus becoming a superconductor with negligible resistive losses while it generates magnetic field.

How many types of energy storage systems are there?

In general, energy storage systems can be categorized into five. These are electrochemical, chemical, electrical, mechanical and thermal systems as shown in Fig. 6. The chart in Fig. 7 depicts the application-technology matrix for different energy storage technologies.