Utility applications program. Annual report for 1981

The purpose of the Utility Applications Program is to provide information and assistance to interested utilities on central station energy storage systems. Compressed air and underground pumped hydroelectric energy storage are the primary technical focus. Smaller utilities are the primary targets of this program, as they may not have resources to track and utilize new energy conservation developments. The program, initiated during this year-long period, consists of a series of tasks integrating and supporting energy storage implementation. Program management and technical coordination activities monitor the wide range of research ongoing both under government support and in industry and provide a locus for dissemination of results. Recently completed DOE demonstration studies provide the central data base and the DOE CAES and UPH Technology Program activities provide another major resource. In addition a UPH preliminary feasibility study in coorination with Central Vermont Public Servie (CVPS), a Northeast utility, was carried out. The major program activity this period was a comprehensive technology assessment and environmental siting study, performed in coordination with the Soyland Power Cooperative in Decatur, Illinois. The reports from this work established solid siting precedents for CAES application in the US and jointly assisted the utility in assembling the required baseline information for ongoing technical and financial development of the first US compressed air energy storage facility