Economic Benefit Analysis of Micro Compressed Air Energy Storage Based on Life-Cycle Cost

Micro compressed air energy storage (M-CAES) has the characteristics of pollution-free, high comprehensive utilization of energy, and the ability of combined cooling, heating and electrical power, which can better meet the energy application in smaller areas. Considering the problem of economics and investment decisions of the M-CAES, the traditional economic analysis method based on the initial investment appears to be "unrealistic" and relatively "rough". Therefore, the economic benefits of the M-CAES based on the life-cycle is proposed in this paper. First, the life cycle cost of the M-CAES system is analyzed, and then the life cycle cost model and the economic benefit model of compressed air energy storage is established. Finally, the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method are verified by using the 1MW•h M-CAES system. The results show that this method can provide reference for M-CAES system investment and operation, also M-CAES project requires strong government support at present.