Integration of cryogenic energy storage with renewables and power plants: Optimal strategies and cost analysis

Energy storage is critical for overcoming challenges associated with the intermittency and the variable availability of renewable sources for decarbonizing the energy sector. Cryogenic energy storage (CES) is of interest due to its high technology readiness level, no geographical limitations, and moderate round-trip efficiency. The time-varying nature of demands and renewable availability needs to be considered at the design and integration stages of energy storage. We develop a mixed-integer nonlinear program (MINLP) model to obtain the energy storage costs on a daily basis for different scenarios that typically arise over an entire year. Using this optimization-based framework, we address key decision-making questions towards energy transition: What is the energy cost when CES is integrated with renewables and power plants? How does each scenario affect the overall energy cost? How much storage is needed for complete transition to renewables? What is the optimal integration towards 100% renewable energy? What are the optimal storage designs for both renewables and fossil-based power generation with current and future energy demands? We discuss different scenarios and solutions to these questions. •An optimization-based model for cryogenic energy storage integrated with power plants.•The model accounts for interactions between power sources, storage, and grid demand.•Scenario analysis for energy storage from renewables and fossil power plants.•Energy storage can meet the current demands with a marginal burden on power plants.•Renewable energy farms benefit from large-scale storage to overcome intermittency.•Fossil plants are economical without energy storage due to cheaper ramping options.