Key pumped storage enterprises

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.

What makes pumped storage so unique and valuable in the energy transition?

“What makes pumped storage so unique and valuable in the energy transition is its ability to provide additional power when it’s needed most,” said Malcolm Woolf, president and CEO of the National Hydropower Association. Pumped storage requires two water reservoirs, one above the other.

Where are pumped storage projects located?

So the majority of the nearly 100 pumped storage projects currently in the preliminary phase with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are throughout the mountainous Western U.S.

How does pumped storage work?

Pumped storage requires two water reservoirs, one above the other. At night, water is pumped uphill to the higher reservoir, then sent back down through electricity-generating turbines when energy demand peaks or renewable resources can’t generate electricity, helping to ensure grid stability during system-stressing events like record-hot summers.

How does a pumped storage hydropower project work?

Pumped storage hydropower projects use electricity to store potential energy by moving water between an upper and lower reservoir. Using electricity from the grid to pump water from a lower elevation, PSH creates potential energy in the form of water stored at an upper elevation, which is why it is often referred to as a “water battery”.

How much energy is stored in pumped storage reservoirs?

A bottom up analysis of energy stored in the world’s pumped storage reservoirs using IHA’s stations database estimates total storage to be up to 9,000 GWh. PSH operations and technology are adapting to the changing power system requirements incurred by variable renewable energy (VRE) sources.