Superconducting Energy Storage Development for Electric Utility Systems

High load factors are desirabe goals for all electric utilities to reduce the total power generation cost. Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) technology has progressed to where it shows promise as an alternate energy storage method to pumped hydrostorage to improve electric utility load factors. Experiments at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory indicate that a SMES system responds quickly (i.e. in milliseconds) to power system demand and has a high energy storage efficiency. The next generation superconductors suitable for larger SMES units are discussed, component and system test results are presented and some energy storage experiments of a 100-kJ coil and twelve-pulse converter interfaced with an ac power system are described