Researchers at the Energy Technologies Institute are to examine the viability of heat storage technology in an attempt to address concerns on energy intermittency and lack of supply.
Up until now the issue of heat has been largely ignored by government, with most initiatives focused on renewable electricity generation. But heat makes up a massive portion of energy consumed in the UK. Some industrial gas users were forced to switch off their gas supplies recently when domestic users turned up thermostats to counter the cold snap.
Professor John Beddington, chief scientific adviser to the government, said: “We’ve got to look at the stability of supply, which is an issue for the grid and power producers.
“I’m often asked how will we get energy if there is no wind on a particular day. The answer is energy storage, both electricity and heat. Although smart grids will be used, it’s clear that we will need to address the storage of heat energy in some way.”
The portfolio of research projects at the ETI has been adjusted to include energy storage, with £12 million allocated to energy storage and distribution over the next three years. Researchers will consider the feasibility of storing heat locally in gravel beds and stores on the sides of buildings. On a larger scale they will look at the possibility of injecting hot water into rock formations and extracting it when required.
Such long-term “interseasonal” heat storage would tap into the heat wasted from power stations and industrial sites, store it over the summer and dispense it for homes and businesses to use during the winter.
Dr David Clarke, chief executive of the ETI, said: “We waste more heat than we use in all of our domestic buildings in the UK. Our work will look at where the optimum regions to integrate heat power, population and transport are. We need to understand the technological opportunity and the cost.
“The infrastructure and piping is expensive, but there’s no problem moving heat long distances. In some countries, such as Denmark, it’s done already to tens of kilometres.”
As new power stations are built in the UK, Clarke added it made sense to site them near potential heat and CO2 stores.
He admitted that heat storage techniques were still “mostly academic” ideas, but said that a number of companies were trialling the technology.
© PE Publishing, 27 January 2010
