Novel Power System With Superconducting Cable With Energy Storage Function for Large-Scale Introduction of Renewable Energies

Abstract

This paper proposes a superconducting cable with energy storage function crucial for large-scale introduction of renewable energies to electric power system. The compensation for the power generation fluctuation from renewable energies has been one of the most critical issues for large-scale introduction of them. It will become difficult to manage that only by conventional energy storage devices because high-power and high-speed compensation is necessary especially for large-scale photovoltaic (PV) power generation. The power system with the proposed superconducting cable will overcome the problem. Such a project started in 2017 in Japan with the support from the government. The target is 10 MW and 10-km-long superconducting cable with the stored energy of 1 GJ in 2050. We have designed such superconducting cable, and have carried out simulations assuming 10-MW-class PV power generation. As a result, very severe fluctuation from PV could be compensated only by the superconducting cable without any batteries. This indicates that the power system itself had energy storage function which could only be realized using superconducting technology. We believe that this new system will be a key solution for future large-scale introduction of renewable energies, and will dramatically expand the market for superconducting technology.