Compressed Air Energy Storage
Another storage method is compressed air energy storage (CAES), which can store large amounts of energy in underground caverns, overcoming one of the biggest shortcomings of today's batteries. There are a handful of projects to couple compressed air storage with wind turbines. By coupling renewable energy with storage, renewable systems become "dispatchable," which means they can supply power whenever needed. Many people think that bulk storage is needed for renewable energy to become a large contributor to power generation in the U.S.
September 17, 2010 4:00 AM PDT
Photo by: PG&E
| Caption by: Martin LaMonica
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