canada's hydrostor eyes role in $1 bln u.s. peak power market - energy storage companies

Toronto, January 19Reuters)-
Hydrostor, a Canadian underwater energy storage company, is seeking a $1 billion contract to replace the retired United StatesS.
The company's chief executive said there will be peak power plants in the next two to three years. So-
The generator, known as "peakers", is a key but expensive part of the grid and will only open when the demand is highest.
Hydrostor and its engineering partner AECOM are targeting dozens of coal companies
There are at least 100 megawatts of electricity in the United States. S.
Either closed in 2016 or this year.
Customers for Hydrostor
Peak power of compressed air stored underwater in balloons
Type accumulator.
It then reverses the power generation process and feeds it back to the grid when the demand is high.
"So far, we are the lowest cost storage solution, we can build on a large scale, we have established a partnership, we will start marketing here in the next month or two, "The chief executive of Hydrostor, Curtis wandolem, said.
Hydrostor will compete with battery companies and new, more efficient gas companies for utility concerns
Power facilities.
"Most utilities in the United StatesS.
"People who start getting wet with storage usually play these battery games, mainly because they are a little more flexible," says Craig Sabin, a strategy consultant for navigation company utilities.
Given that shale gas production has hit record highs over the years, utilities may also be reluctant to give up natural gas, pushing prices in 2016 to their lowest level since 1999.
"The silver bullet has not yet been determined," said Richard McMahon, representing the Edison Electric Power Institute in the United States. S. investor-
Own a power company.
"There are a lot of places for these technologies, and of course, when you have these conditions and the gas price is low, there is also a place for gas peaks," he said . ".
VanWalleghem said that the capital cost of Hydrostor is between $1,000 and $2,000 per kilowatt, compared with the capital cost of the battery at least $3,500 per kilowatt, which makes
Despite the low cost of operation and maintenance, it was fired.
Prior to the signing of the AECOM agreement last year, he said, the company had only built or contracted projects with a capacity of less than 2 MW and could build up to 200 MW of facilities.
A megawatt can power about 1,000 homes.