An Evaluation of the Levelised Cost of Storage of Buoyancy Energy Storage Technology at Smaller Scales

Buoyancy Energy Storage Technology (BEST) offers a promising solution to the intermittency of renewable energy sources like wind and solar. This paper aims to evaluate the feasibility of using BEST for small- scale energy storage applications. The methodology involves calculating the levelized cost of storage (LCOS) and energy capacity of two BEST variants: Fabric BEST and Reeling BEST. Results indicate that Fabric BEST can store 96 kWh per cycle with an LCOS of $356.73/MWh, while Reeling BEST stores less energy at a significantly higher cost of $683/MWh.