A group of municipal utilities in Iowa and surrounding states are planning to build the Iowa Stored Energy Park that would integrate a 75-150 megawatt wind farm with Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) technology.

Iowa will use the technology to store low-cost, off-peak wind energy in a porous geological structure 3,000 feet underground, beneath layers of impermeable rock. The air will be injected under pressure, push back water already stored in the rock, and then the rock will hold air like a sponge holds water.

As demand for electricity rises, the stored air will be released, heated, and used to drive generators, producing electricity for folks in Iowa, Minnesota and North and South Dakota.

The ability to store wind power would revolutionize the industry, although there’s still a lot of fossil fuel energy that can be replaced by wind without storage issues. The cost of the project is expected to be nearly a quarter of a million dollars, not counting the wind power facilities, and is expected to be operational in 2011.

Imre Gyuk, the Energy Storage Research Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Energy, notes that this could be a revolutionary project, with national ramifications:

It's a milestone for Iowa. It's a milestone for the Department of Energy. And, it's a milestone for the country. The Iowa Stored Energy Park could be a role model for other states and it could help the United States become a greener country.

Renewable Energy Access
Iowa Stored Energy Park