1. Gabriel E. Colón Reyes, REU Undergraduate Student
Carson Pete, IGERT, Ph.D. Student
Dr. Jon McGowan, Professor Advisor
Identifying Optimal Locations and Evaluating Storage Potential for Underwater
Compressed Air Energy Storage in the Gulf of Maine
Underwater Compressed Air Energy Storage (UW-CAES) has proven to be an
effective way to store electrical energy in the form of compressed air that can later
be converted back into electricity when needed. Renewable energy, like offshore
wind, has some inherent grid integration problems due to its intermittent nature
and also due to the potential negative impacts of siting energy facilities
with coastal stakeholders. The objectives of this project are to find optimal offshore
locations and evaluate the storage resource potential in the Gulf of Maine in order to
see if UW-CAES facilities can be effectively established in the New England region.
As renewable energy penetrations increase on the New England electrical grid
system, UW-CAES systems could play a vital role in reducing greenhouse gases from
conventional fossil fuel generation and have a potential benefit to shift non-
dispatchable renewable generation to times when it is most needed. For this project,
ArcGIS, a geospatial analysis program, will be used to do a site suitability analysis
and determine the resource potential for different air compression techniques when
considering engineering, environmental, and siting parameters such as electrical
grid interconnect points, soil structures, water depths, fishing and protected
environmental areas, commercial boating lanes, and recreation areas.