The amortized capital costs are $130.26 and $92.01/kW-year for composite and steel rotor FESSs, respectively. The corresponding LCOSs are $189.94 and $146.41/MWh, respectively. Table 4. Cost summary for 20 MW/5MWh flywheel energy storage systems.
Flywheel energy storage systems are increasingly being considered as a promising alternative to electro-chemical batteries for short-duration utility applications. There is a scarcity of research that evaluates the techno-economic performance of flywheels for large-scale applications.
Utility-scale energy storage systems for stationary applications typically have power ratings of 1 MW or more . The largest flywheel energy storage is in New York, USA by Beacon Power with a power rating of 20 MW and 15 min discharge duration .
Due to their simple design and frictionless characteristics, flywheel systems can reach very high efficiencies of 70-95%, where only a small fraction of the energy is lost during storage.
Global decarbonisation requires green energy storage solutions, of which flywheels have been touted as one of its principal proponents. These clever yet simple mechanical systems are certainly part of the energy storage future, just perhaps not in the way you envisage. Read on to find out why! Contents What is a flywheel?
The use of new materials and compact designs will increase the specific energy and energy density to make flywheels more competitive to batteries. Other opportunities are new applications in energy harvest, hybrid energy systems, and flywheel’s secondary functionality apart from energy storage.