The Role of Underground Salt Caverns in Renewable Energy Peaking: A Review

To address the inherent intermittency and instability of renewable energy, the construction of large-scale energy storage facilities is imperative. Salt caverns are internationally recognized as excellent sites for large-scale energy storage. They have been widely used to store substances such as na...

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Main Authors: Si Huang, Yinping Li, Xilin Shi, Weizheng Bai, Yashuai Huang, Yang Hong, Xiaoyi Liu, Hongling Ma, Peng Li, Mingnan Xu, Tianfu Xue
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Energies
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/23/6005
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author Si Huang
Yinping Li
Xilin Shi
Weizheng Bai
Yashuai Huang
Yang Hong
Xiaoyi Liu
Hongling Ma
Peng Li
Mingnan Xu
Tianfu Xue
author_facet Si Huang
Yinping Li
Xilin Shi
Weizheng Bai
Yashuai Huang
Yang Hong
Xiaoyi Liu
Hongling Ma
Peng Li
Mingnan Xu
Tianfu Xue
author_sort Si Huang
collection DOAJ
description To address the inherent intermittency and instability of renewable energy, the construction of large-scale energy storage facilities is imperative. Salt caverns are internationally recognized as excellent sites for large-scale energy storage. They have been widely used to store substances such as natural gas, oil, air, and hydrogen. With the global transition in energy structures and the increasing demand for renewable energy load balancing, there is broad market potential for the development of salt cavern energy storage technologies. There are three types of energy storage in salt caverns that can be coupled with renewable energy sources, namely, salt cavern compressed air energy storage (SCCAES), salt cavern hydrogen storage (SCHS), and salt cavern flow battery (SCFB). The innovation of this paper is to comprehensively review the current status and future development trends of these three energy storage methods. Firstly, the development status of these three energy storage methods, both domestically and internationally, is reviewed. Secondly, according to the characteristics of these three types of energy storage methods, some key technical challenges are proposed to be focused on. The key technical challenge for SCCAES is the need to further reduce the cost of the ground equipment; the key technical challenge for SCHS is to prevent the risk of hydrogen leakage; and the key technical challenge for SCFB is the need to further increase the concentration of the active substance in the huge salt cavern. Finally, some potential solutions are proposed based on these key technical challenges. This work is of great significance in accelerating the development of salt cavern energy storage technologies in coupled renewable energy.
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spelling doaj-art-6518324c25f044018bcb5edd5ca24d042025-08-20T02:50:37ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732024-11-011723600510.3390/en17236005The Role of Underground Salt Caverns in Renewable Energy Peaking: A ReviewSi Huang0Yinping Li1Xilin Shi2Weizheng Bai3Yashuai Huang4Yang Hong5Xiaoyi Liu6Hongling Ma7Peng Li8Mingnan Xu9Tianfu Xue10State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, ChinaTo address the inherent intermittency and instability of renewable energy, the construction of large-scale energy storage facilities is imperative. Salt caverns are internationally recognized as excellent sites for large-scale energy storage. They have been widely used to store substances such as natural gas, oil, air, and hydrogen. With the global transition in energy structures and the increasing demand for renewable energy load balancing, there is broad market potential for the development of salt cavern energy storage technologies. There are three types of energy storage in salt caverns that can be coupled with renewable energy sources, namely, salt cavern compressed air energy storage (SCCAES), salt cavern hydrogen storage (SCHS), and salt cavern flow battery (SCFB). The innovation of this paper is to comprehensively review the current status and future development trends of these three energy storage methods. Firstly, the development status of these three energy storage methods, both domestically and internationally, is reviewed. Secondly, according to the characteristics of these three types of energy storage methods, some key technical challenges are proposed to be focused on. The key technical challenge for SCCAES is the need to further reduce the cost of the ground equipment; the key technical challenge for SCHS is to prevent the risk of hydrogen leakage; and the key technical challenge for SCFB is the need to further increase the concentration of the active substance in the huge salt cavern. Finally, some potential solutions are proposed based on these key technical challenges. This work is of great significance in accelerating the development of salt cavern energy storage technologies in coupled renewable energy.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/23/6005salt rockenergy storagesalt cavernrenewable energysolution mining
spellingShingle Si Huang
Yinping Li
Xilin Shi
Weizheng Bai
Yashuai Huang
Yang Hong
Xiaoyi Liu
Hongling Ma
Peng Li
Mingnan Xu
Tianfu Xue
The Role of Underground Salt Caverns in Renewable Energy Peaking: A Review
Energies
salt rock
energy storage
salt cavern
renewable energy
solution mining
title The Role of Underground Salt Caverns in Renewable Energy Peaking: A Review
title_full The Role of Underground Salt Caverns in Renewable Energy Peaking: A Review
title_fullStr The Role of Underground Salt Caverns in Renewable Energy Peaking: A Review
title_full_unstemmed The Role of Underground Salt Caverns in Renewable Energy Peaking: A Review
title_short The Role of Underground Salt Caverns in Renewable Energy Peaking: A Review
title_sort role of underground salt caverns in renewable energy peaking a review
topic salt rock
energy storage
salt cavern
renewable energy
solution mining
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/23/6005
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