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Enron Mail |
Ken and Mark,
Richard Lewis mentioned to me that you had recently read an article about Regenesys, the large-scale battery technology being developed in the UK, and wanted to know more about Enron's potential interest in this technology. I am a Manager in our UK Origination and have tracked the progress of Regenesys since it first came on the scene over one year ago. We have watched it with interest given the historical peak/off-peak spread in this country's power market. Bruce Stram and I have also co-ordinated our efforts on the preliminary analysis. Below is a brief summary of Regenesys, our initial views on the technology and our response going forward. Technology Summary large-scale battery system using two oppositely-charged electrolytes that are separated by an ion exchange membrane current generating plant capacity up to 14.75 MW per unit (or 120 MWh per day) response time within 20 milliseconds it can release full power within a few seconds thereby yielding brief capacity of up to 500 MW $1500 / kW capital costs initially which are expected to decrease to approx. $750 / kW 18 month build time for facility which requires a site of just under 1 hectare (50 m x 60 m) Latest Developments Innogy announced last month that it will proceed with it's first Regenesys plant at Aberthaw Power Station in the UK Tennessee Valley Authority has just signed some form of agreement with Innogy on the Regenesys technology but there are no firm decisions to build a unit there yet Our Cynical Point of View Innogy have got to go a long way before they can make this technology commercially successful Our initial analysis shows that based on the peak/off-peak spreads they need to achieve capital costs less than $600 / kW to be successful - we have not seen evidence that this can be achieved Innogy have been hyping up the technology in the past month to support the forthcoming spilt of National Power and to prepare for a potential floatation There has been a flurry of press releases and news articles recently yet the specifications of the technology (including capital cost) have not improved since we first looked at this in July 1999 Innogy touts this as a revolution in energy storage for peak/off-peak arbitrage, however, commercially it does not compare to having large-scale diesel standby generation On the Brighter Side The real potential for this technology could be in supporting grid systems It has good black start and frequency response capabilities Way Forward We are evaluating the commercial attraction of the black start and frequency response characteristics with respect to our interests in the UK I will continue to liaise with Bruce Stram in evaluating any further potential in the US Please let me know if you would like any further details on the above. Regards, Chris
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