Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) is a greenhouse gas-free method of storing potential energy for later conversion. Hydropower generated during off-peak hours can be used to liquefy air. Stored air can be used to generate energy by heating it, creating pressurized air that can be run through a turbine. “Waste cold” is generated during the heating process. The energy industry is seeking use cases for economical disposal of this asset. Hydropower dams are frequently located above stretches of river in which fish evolved for cold water, especially anadromous salmonid species, are present during the summer. Regulatory requirements to preserve cold water in these habitats are operationally challenging, and sometimes hydrologically impossible, to meet.
This study seeks to examine the cold water benefits offered by LAES waste cold. Water supply planning models will provide reservoir elevation time series for power modeling, which will be used to estimate availability (off-peak hours). Water temperature models will be used to convert waste cold into cold water within reservoirs and downriver, with fish mortality models being used to quantify temperature impacts. Other uses for the waste cold relevant to Reclamation such as fish hatcheries will also be considered.
