Geospatial Assessment of Particle-Based Electrical Thermal Energy Storage (ETES) for United States Grid and Data-Center Applications

The increasing demand for energy driven by the AI revolution necessitates robust Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES) technologies capable of storing electricity for 10-100 hours to mitigate supply and demand fluctuations, manage expensive peak demand periods, and enhance overall grid stability. Thermal Energy Storage (TES) is prominent among various LDES technology options, relying on sensible or latent heat to store energy. This study focuses on the particle-based Electrical Thermal Energy Storage (ETES). The ETES utilizes sensible heat storage within silica sand as the thermal energy storage medium. Operationally, the system is charged during off-peak hours using resistive heating rods, and subsequently discharged by circulating heat transfer fluid (air, water, oil) through embedded heat exchanger pipes. A focused market outlook is performed with ETES deployment across the United States. The market analysis centers on two primary strategies for maximizing ETES utilization in the United States. First, an electricity price arbitrage analysis simulates the financial savings achieved by using ETES to shift energy demand away from expensive peak hours, including a cost evaluation across multiple diverse US locations while considering regional grid stability metrics, such as Anticipated Reserve Margins (ARM). Second, a geospatial footprint analysis identifies strategic co-location opportunities between ETES and high-demand infrastructure, focusing specifically on large US data centers and high-penetration solar (PV) projects. Given that photovoltaic solar constitutes the vast majority of new renewable projects nationally, and states like California show high solar deployment and significant data center density, co-locating the ETES system at these sites can enable efficient integration of intermittent PV generation with dispatchable power provision for major loads. Ultimately, this research provides a technical and commercial roadmap detailing specific markets where ETES can achieve superior techno-economic viability by exploiting price differentials and facilitating the integration of intermittent renewables with energy-intensive consumers.