Installation Design for Valve-Regulated Sealed Lead-Acid Batteries in Generating Stations
Commercially available large-capacity valve-regulated sealed lead-acid batteries represent a novel technology for large stationary batteries for emergency power applications, using an oxygen recombinant cycle to inhibit the generation of hydrogen under normal operation. A discussion is presented of the installation design for these batteries, making comparisons to traditional vented lead-acid cells as appropriate. The operation of the valve-regulated sealed lead-acid battery is also described. >
Sealed Lead Acid Batteries
There is a growing trend among users of lead acid batteries towards use of sealed maintenance free designs. These offer the user many advantages in freedom of battery placement, increased safety, battery size and weight, no need to water, and in some instances superior performance. In standby service, two battery types are rivalling the traditional flooded lead acid stationary battery. Both are sealed, contain immobilized electrolyte and are "maintenance-free" by operating in the oxygen cycle. The difference in these sealed cell designs will be discussed together with a comparison of performance characteristics.
Thermal properties of the Florida Current as related to Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)
The thermal properties of the Florida Current are presented and analyzed for the available ocean thermal energy. For a cold water intake depth equal to or greater than 600 m, potential sites for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) power plants appear to exist in the Straits of Florida and, to a lesser extent, off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. The maximum thermal differences occur on the continental shelf because of the geostrophic motion of the Gulf Stream. An estimate of the total available ocean thermal energy from the Florida Current, delivered in the form of electricity, is 3.5 × 1012 kWh yr−1. For a cold water suction depth of 600 m or more, seasonal variability in the ocean thermal resource is approx. ±35 per cent of average annual output.