Presented by: Brian Brunskill, Saskatchewan Geoscientist
In Saskatchewan, significant investment must be made to replace retiring coal generation by 2030 and to meet future increases in low-carbon electricity demand. We have abundant wind and solar resources that can help meet this demand but large-scale development is challenging because generation from renewables is intermittent. To provide the same reliability as natural gas generation using renewables, utility-scale energy storage is required. Batteries can provide short-term storage services but in Saskatchewan there is another option: our geological advantage supports the building of air batteries that use electricity generated from renewable sources to compress atmospheric air into large, rock-salt caverns in the deep subsurface. Later in the generation cycle this atmospheric air is released as needed to generate electricity. Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) is a mature technology that has been used in Germany since 1978 and in the USA since 1991. The technology is safe, dependable and it produces no toxic waste. Our investigations support the potential use of CAES technology in Saskatchewan.
Date: Thursday, March 10, 2022
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. (CST)
This event is being hosted through Zoom. A confirmation email, including the Zoom connection details, will be sent to the email address provided below.
