New pumped water energy storage system

What is a pumped storage hydropower facility?

Pumped storage hydropower facilities use water and gravity to create and store renewable energy. Learn more about this energy storage technology and how it can help support the 100% clean energy grid the country—and the world—needs.

Could a pumped hydro energy storage system bring more wind and solar online?

Plain water and a new type of turbine are the keys to a pumped hydro energy storage system aimed at bringing more wind and solar online.

What is pumped storage hydropower (PSH)?

Pumped storage hydropower (PSH) is a type of hydroelectric energy storage. It is a configuration of two water reservoirs at different elevations that can generate power as water moves down from one to the other (discharge), passing through a turbine. The system also requires power as it pumps water back into the upper reservoir (recharge).

Is pumped storage hydropower the world's water battery?

Below are some of the paper's key messages and findings. Pumped storage hydropower (PSH), 'the world’s water battery’, accounts for over 94% of installed global energy storage capacity, and retains several advantages such as lifetime cost, levels of sustainability and scale.

Could pumped storage transform hydroelectric projects?

New research released Tuesday by Global Energy Monitor reveals a transformation underway in hydroelectric projects — using the same gravitational qualities of water, but typically without building large, traditional dams like the Hoover in the American West or Three Gorges in China. Instead, a technology called pumped storage is rapidly expanding.

Could pumped hydro power a big energy storage project?

That’s pretty good, but NREL is eyeballing pumped hydro for bigger energy storage projects — up to 100 megawatts. Considering that only a fraction of existing dams in the US are used for power generation, an economical pumped hydro system could blow the field wide open for wind and solar developers.