| Summary: | March 1998 This is a preprint of a paper intended for publication in a journal or proceedings. Since changes may be made before publication, this preprint is made available with the understanding that it will not be cited or reproduced without the permission of the author. Using projected data for advanced energy storage technologies, LLNL ran an optimization for a hypothetical Arctic community with a reasonable wind resource (average wind speed 8 m/s). These simulations showed the life-cycle annualized cost of the total energy system (electric plus space heating) might be reduced by nearly 40% simply by adding wind power to the diesel system. An additional 20 to 40% of the wind-diesel cost might be saved by adding hydrogen storage or zinc-air fuel cells to the system. PREPRINT Hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water using intermittent, renewable power provides inexpensive long-term energy storage. Conversion back to electricity with fuel cells can be accomplished with available technology. The advantages of a hydrogen electrolysis/fuel cell system include low life-cycle costs for long term storage, no emissions of concern, quiet operation, high reliability with low maintenance, and flexibility to use hydrogen as a direct fuel (heating, transportation). Disadvantages include high capital costs, relatively low electrical turn-around efficiency, and lack of operating experience in utility settings. Zinc-air fuel cells can lower capital and life-cycle costs compared to hydrogen, with most of the same advantages. Like hydrogen systems, zinc-air technology promises a closed system for long-term storage of energy from intermittent sources. The turn around efficiency is expected to exceed 60%, while use of waste heat can potentially increase overall energy efficiency to over 80%. Introduction In remote locations, renewable resources and advanced technologies, coupled with stateof-the-art energy storage methods, compete favorably with conventional fossil fuel generation, when analytical comparisons are optimized to ...
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