Offshore energy storage

This chapter focuses on energy storage situated offshore. Large amounts have already been written on energy storage generally and there would be little value in adding to these outputs. However, there are good justifications in concentrating specifically on storing energy offshore. First, the environment is rather special and it provides resources that may be helpful for energy storage. These resources include (a) hydrostatic head between surface and seabed that may sometimes be large, (b) an effectively infinite amount of thermal ballast enabling a stable reference temperature to be maintained and (c) an unlimited supply of saltwater that may be useful for electrolysis to support hydrogen production. Second, energy storage at the site of renewable energy generation potentially makes better use of expensive electricity transmission lines joining the generation to consumption. Finally, there are opportunities for integrating storage with the primary harvesting of energy that can afford substantial effective reductions in cost and increases in effective performance.