PowerStor®

PowerStor® offers the highest net output increment of all available inlet air cooling options. The large increase of 20-25% is possible because of low auxiliary power consumption during the peak periods since the cold energy reserve is built during the off-peak hours. Typically, every 10 cubic ft. of ice is equivalent to 3.5 MWhr of additional capacity that can be utilized during the peak hours when electric rates are usually the highest. The increase in output is even higher for combined cycle plants because of additional steam production due to higher turbine exhaust flow.

CEC’s PowerStor® systems solve peak shaving and spinning reserve requirements and helps ease other capacity constraints. A PowerStor® system lets you hold additional capacity until just the right moment, allowing you to maximize your profits from your generation assets.

The incremental capacity costs for a PowerStor® system is far less than adding capacity with additional new gas turbines. Life cycle maintenance costs are well below that of turbines; especially new "F, G, and H" class units.

For combustion turbine TES applications, ice is preferable to chilled water because the storage tank size is typically one seventh (1/7) the size. The advantage of chilled water storage is that waste heat can be used to build the cold reserve using absorption chillers. This reduces the auxiliary electrical load required to build the reserve off-peak. This type of PowerStor® system is also useful in areas where there are extended (> 8 hours per day) peak periods.

Hybrid systems which combine PowerStor® and PowerChill® designs can give you more capacity on even the hottest days, at very low incremental cost.

PowerStor® brings new meaning to the concept of "Demand Side Management" with "Supply Side Management". Now you can profit from periods of highest demand, instead of shedding load.

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