CAES: Environment

Since atmospheric emissions are a major issue for the power industry, the environmental benefits of CAES technology are some of its most valuable attributes.

Lower Emissions
The low thermal heat rate of a CAES plant enables it to produce power with approximately:

50% fewer tons of emissions than a comparably sized simple cycle gas plant
30% fewer tons of emissions than a comparably sized combined cycle gas plant

Displacing Emissions
The ability to store off-peak power enables CAES plants to displace emissions according to time and location.

	Time - When power is produced during the day, the nitrogen oxide emitted during combustion reacts with volatile organic compounds in the presence of solar radiation to create ozone. A CAES plant is able to store power produced at night when emissions have less impact for use during the day.
	Location - CAES can also displace emissions by geography by storing energy produced at another location. During off-peak periods, CAES plants in non-attainment zones can secure power that is generated outside their environmental area, reducing overall emissions in their zone.