BENEFIT COST COMPARISONS OF SMES IN SYSTEM-SPECIFIC APPLICATION SCENARIOS

The inherently high storage efficiency, instantaneous dispatch capabil ity, and multifunction uses of superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) are attributes that give it the potential for widespread appli cation in the electric utility industry. Opportunities appear to exist where SMES at a given location could provide multiple benefits either simultaneously or sequentially as system conditions dictate. These be nefits, including diurnal storage and system stability and dynamic con trol enhancement, increase the application potential of SMES to a larg er number of opportunities than might be justified by the value of its diurnal storage capability alone. However, the benefits an individual utility may realize from SMES applications are strongly influenced by the characteristics of the utility system, the location of the SMES u nit, and the timing of its installation in the system. Such benefits a re typically not evaluated adequately in generic studies. This paper s ummarizes results of case studies performed by Pacific Northwest Labor atory (PNL) with funding provided by the Bonneville Power Administrati on (BPA) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The derivat ion of SMES benefits and costs are described and benefit/cost (B/C) ra tios are compared in system-specific scenarios of interest to BPA. Res ults of using the DYNASTORE production cost model show the sensitivity of B/C ratios to SMES capacity and power and to the forecast system l oad. Intermediate-size SMES applications, which primarily provide syst em stability and dynamic control enhancement are reviewed. The potenti al for SMES to levelize the output of a wind energy complex is also as sessed. Most of the cases show SMES to provide a positive net benefit with the additional, sometimes surprising indication, that B/C ratios and net present worth of intermediate-size units can exceed those of l arger systems.