[en] A study was performed to investigate and develop a hybrid coal gasification concept which utilizes an air saturator (AS) with an integrated coal gasification/compressed air energy storage (CGS/CAES) plant. This potentially attractive concept is designated as AS/CGS/CAES. In this concept, the coal gasification system provides fuel for the combustors of the CAES reheat turbomachinery train. Motive air from underground storage is humidified by saturators and thereby provides increased power production without additional air consumption. The heat for generating the hot water utilized in the saturators is extracted from waste heat within the overall plant. Multiple alternatives were considered and parametrically analyzed in the study in order to select the most thermodynamically and economically attractive concepts. The major alternatives were differentiated by the type of gasifier, type of CAES turbomachinery, mode of operation, and utilization of waste heat. The results of the study indicate that the use of the air saturation in AS/CGS/CAES plants might reduce capital costs of coal gasification based power used in intermediate load generation by $300 to $400 per kilowatt. Furthermore, heat rates might also be reduced by almost 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour, a major reduction. The major cause of the reduction in electricity costs is a 50% reduction in the required gasification capacity per net kW. In addition to being a load management tool, AS/CGS/CAES concepts provide a method to operate the CGS and turbomachinery in a continuous mode, improving the operation and potentially the life expectancy of both components. 3 refs., 18 figs., 4 tabs