Investigation of Synergy Between Electrochemical Capacitors, Flywheels, and Batteries in Hybrid Energy Storage for PV Systems

This report describes the results of a study that investigated the synergy between electrochemical capacitors (ECs) and flywheels, in combination with each other and with batteries, as energy storage subsystems in photovoltaic (PV) systems. EC and flywheel technologies are described and the potential advantages and disadvantages of each in PV energy storage subsystems are discussed. Seven applications for PV energy storage subsystems are described along with the potential market for each of these applications. A spreadsheet model, which used the net present value method, was used to analyze and compare the costs over time of various system configurations based on flywheel models. It appears that a synergistic relationship exists between ECS and flywheels. Further investigation is recommended to quantify the performance and economic tradeoffs of this synergy and its effect on overall system costs