Estimating available salt volume for potential CAES development: a case study using the Northwich Halite of the Cheshire Basin

The massively bedded rock salts forming the Northwich Halite Member of the Cheshire Basin represent a huge mineral resource, which historically, have been worked by dry mining for rock salt and brine production from both the area of wet rockhead and also from solution-mined caverns. More recently, the halite beds have also provided the host storage horizon for natural gas storage in specifically designed and constructed solution-mined salt caverns. Increasingly, compressed air energy storage (CAES) is being viewed as a viable bulk storage option for surplus electrical energy, which may be through the use of off-peak electricity from both conventional and renewable sources. We describe a novel technique using Esri’s ArcGIS® Geographic Information System software, to derive potential storage cavern locations and an estimate of the physical volumes that might be available for storage purposes, including for CAES. The process involves defining the spatial distribution, thickness and insoluble content of the halite beds is described, together with an estimate of the potential physical volumes of solution-mined caverns. Cavern volumes compare favourably with those of current gas storage facilities, which are illustrated in terms of their surface footprints and use of resource.