Decommissioned power plants to develop energy storage

Should energy storage be integrated with fossil-fuel plant decommissioning strategies?

Integrating energy storage with fossil-fuel plant decommissioning strategies offers benefits for wide range of stakeholders in the energy system (Saha 2019). For federal, state, and local governments, replacing fossil-fuel power plants with storage capacity could support their decarbonization and energy transition goals.

Should energy storage be included in power plant decommissioning plans?

This report discusses how a strategic integration of energy storage in power plant decommissioning plans can mitigate these negative effects while providing energy system, environmental, and societal co-benefits (Table S.1). Table S.1. Energy Storage Benefit Attributes

What role does storage play in power plant decommissioning?

In all three power plant decommissioning strategies, storage plays the dual role of enabling the reduction of non-RE sources from the grid, while enabling increased RE integration into the electric grid (Table 4).

Can storage be integrated into plant decommissioning strategies?

The section offers a brief summary of three case studies—at the Dynegy Oakland, Centralia, and Manatee power plants—where storage was integrated into plant decommissioning strategies to play the dual role of enabling the reduction of fossil sources from the grid while allowing increased integration of renewable sources into the electric grid.

What are the benefits of storage in plant decommissioning plans?

The strategic integration of storage in plant decommissioning plans provides energy system, environmental, and societal co-benefits. Reduced outages benefit electric utilities and ratepayers. For ratepayers, these benefits are realized in the form of the avoided disruptions in day-to-day life activities.

How does a plant decommissioning strategy impact the supply chain?

For example, in the Centralia case study (see Section 3.2), the decision to build storage capacity in the plant decommissioning strategy led to research and development efforts creating jobs and work opportunities in the storage supply chain (TransAlta USA 2020).