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- Pumped Storage
Predicting Unique Market Pumped Storage Significance [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
EPRI
Lead Researcher (s)
- Aidan Tuohy, atuohy@epri.com
While no new PSH plants have been developed in the past two decades, there is renewed interest in the technology due to increases in VRE penetration. The objective of this project is to develop a framework and outline the parameters needed to analyze the energy and ancillary services PSH provides to the electricity grid currently and how that value may change as the generation asset mix—especially as it relates to increased penetration of VRE—changes over time. A key focus will be to develop understanding of the trends that impact PSH value so that utilities can determine strategy for further development of PSH. Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Renewable Integration
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Pumped Storage
PSH Membrane Design and Demonstration [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Lead Researcher (s)
- Kevin Stewart (stewartkm@ornl.gov)
This project explores an innovative idea involving a floating reservoir technology option for closed-loop pumped storage hydropower (PSH) facility configurations. Constructing a conventional lower reservoir to achieve closed-loop status requires major civil works, including substantial blasting and excavating. Although closed-loop PSH is not continuously connected to a natural water body, it is usually sited near a river or lake to reduce the expense of the initial filling, and any necessary refilling, procedure. As such, initial construction activities can have numerous environmental impacts, which when coupled with the major civil works involved, constitutes a significant expense. To minimize these costs and prevent extensive environmental disturbances, an offshore lightweight floating membrane reservoir system that can be easily fabricated and transported to the site has been proposed.
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Pumped Storage
PSH Portfolio Evaluation and Innovation Study [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
ANL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Vladimir Koritarov, koritarov@anl.gov
PSH, with a total of 22 GW of installed capacity in the United States, represent over 95% of the domestic electric energy storage available today. However, no large PSH projects have been commissioned in the last 20 years due to challenges associated with the magnitude of project costs and financing interest during development and construction; the length of time from project investment until project revenue; permitting challenges and construction risks; competition from other storage technologies; and unrecognized energy storage valuation. To address these challenges, research and development efforts have focused on radically new designs and technologies that can dramatically reduce costs and commissioning timelines. In this study, Argonne National Laboratory will perform a landscape analysis to establish the current state of the art of PSH technology, identify promising new concepts and innovations, and highlight technology gaps that have yet to be addressed. Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Markets
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Pumped Storage
PSH Reservoir Lining Study [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
ANL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Vladimir Koritarov, koritarov@anl.gov
In response to significant interest from the hydropower industry, this project investigates regulatory challenges and potential research needs related to PSH reservoir liners. The resulting report will cover a literature review and standard industry practices for using polymeric geomembranes as reservoir liners, including examples from the US and worldwide. Metrics related to cost, performance, and regulatory implications will be considered. Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Generator
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Pumped Storage
PSH TES Tool
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Mark Weimer
This project will develop a set of online tools that industry, regulators, and other stakeholders could adopt and use to advance PSH projects in the US. Current efforts include completing the process of defining the needs of industry and developing a PSH valuation tool.
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Regulatory Management Process
Research Sub-Category
Regulatory Process
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Pumped Storage
Pump-Storage Hydropower Design in a Wastewater Treatment Facility with an Aerating Runner, Additive Manufactured Material Analysis, and Testing of Hydrokinetic Turbine Runner.
Lead Companies
Lehigh University
Lead Researcher (s)
- Fred Carter
The feasibility and design of a novel pumped storage system in a wastewater treatment facility is investigated. Analysis covers the added benefit of aeration, costs, and specifications. For the given sub-megawatt system, off-the-shelf runner designs are not available. This research builds on an existing pump-turbine research and design through a combination of introducing aeration into the operating processes, analysis of large format metal additive manufacturing, and testing and validation of a hydrokinetic turbine runner that uses the same response surface optimization methodology as the discussed pump-turbine design. Two concepts are generated and proposed along with a baseline scenario. Two potential site locations are provided with relevant information The Stickney Wastewater Reclamation Plant and The Navy Wastewater Treatment Plant, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Oahu Hawaii. Results show that aeration is the primary benefit of such a system. The system is capable of meeting the required dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in wastewater treatment. The system produces volume averaged DO levels between 1.2 and 1.4 mg/l. The system is shown to be a scalable open-loop system that can be sized for application. Area requirements of the system are acceptable due to the use of a single pedestal elevated tank The implementation timeline and nuances of this system are largely unknown. In attempt to reduce costs, advanced manufacturing methods are investigated. Investigation into advanced methods showed that mechanical properties of additive manufactured metals using a GMAW system produce equal results to wrought materials and have the potential to produce custom wear properties.
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Powerhouse Pump
Research Sub-Category
Water Systems
Status
complete
Completion Date
2018
- Pumped Storage
Pumped Hydroelectric storage balances a solar microgrid
Lead Companies
Cornell University
Lead Researcher (s)
- Kevin Kircher
We consider the problem of reliably operating a microgrid with solar generation and pumped hydroelectric storage. We show that reliable operation is possible if storage equipment is sufficiently flexible and storage control is sufficiently robust to solar variability. Pumped storage flexibility can be achieved through a ternary configuration; this enables rapid switching between pumping and generating modes. Controller robustness can be achieved through a novel control synthesis method based on convex optimization and resampled historical solar data. The proposed equipment and controller perform well in simulations including twenty months of real solar data at five minute resolution. These results highlight the potential of pumped storage to enable reliable integration of wind and solar power into the grid.
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Renewable Integration
Status
complete
Completion Date
2017
- Pumped Storage
Pumped Storage Hydro Operations and Benefits in the United States: Review and Case-Studies
Lead Companies
EPRI
Lead Researcher (s)
- Joe Stekli
In recent years, there has been growing interest in how ongoing changes to the electric power resource mix, wholesale markets, and utility operations will affect valuation of existing pumped storage hydro (PSH) plants as well as create opportunities for expansion or repowering of those plants, and construction of new PSH plants. This study conducts comparative case studies of recent and future economic benefits—and any other benefits—of three large existing PSH plants: the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) Blenheim-Gilboa plant located in New York, and Duke Energy Carolina’s Bad Creek and Jocassee plants, both located in South Carolina. The objective is to examine the policy, market, and utility operating environment for these plants in detail, and to gather both public and certain non-public utility data on recent historical performance and forecasts of future operations. The framework shown here can then be further developed and applied to other existing PSH plants as a basis for improved communication and analysis regarding these plants’ historical and future economic costs and benefits.
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Markets
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Pumped Storage
Pumped Storage Hydropower (PSH) FAST Commissioning Prize Technical Analysis
Lead Companies
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Lead Researcher (s)
- Scott DeNeale (denealest@ornl.gov)
The US energy landscape has undergone major changes over the past 10 years and will continue to see significant changes in future decades as the power grid increases its reliance on variable renewable energy resources. Because of the inherent variability of these resources, renewable energy growth may require additional energy storage capacity to provide flexible load-following capabilities and other grid services that can quickly adjust to changes in energy demand and generation. Pumped storage hydropower (PSH)—one such energy storage technology—uses pumps to convey water from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir for energy storage and releases water back to the lower reservoir via a powerhouse for hydropower generation. PSH facility pump and generation cycling often follows economic and energy demand conditions. Across the United States, 43 PSH facilities are in operation and 55 projects are in various permitting or licensing stages. Altogether, the 43 operational projects provide the wide majority (95%) of utility-scale electricity storage in the United States. These facilities also provide significant power and nonpower grid benefits, including large-scale electrical system reserve capacity, grid reliability support, and electricity supply-demand balancing through quick-response capabilities and operational flexibility. PSH systems can accomplish these at a scale (e.g., size) and cost that makes these systems highly attractive from a technical standpoint. Although these research concepts are still in their infancy, they demonstrate promising potential as future PSH energy storage technologies. Although PSH has many advantages, development in the United States has effectively stalled since the 1990s, partially because of the magnitude of project costs and financing interest during development and construction, the length of time from project investment until project revenue begins, permitting challenges, construction risks, competition from other storage technologies (e.g., batteries, hydrogen storage), and electricity market evolution and uncertainty. In short, the time, cost, and risk associated with modern PSH development have resulted in limited growth in the United States recently, despite the growing energy storage demand stemming from increased wind and solar power deployment. Technology innovation is needed to help reduce PSH commissioning time, cost, and risk, particularly during the post-licensing phase of project development. To address challenges facing the PSH industry and to improve PSH commissioning timelines, the US Department of Energy (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) initiated the PSH Furthering Advancements to Shorten Time to (FAST) Commissioning Prize project.
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Future Grid
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Pumped Storage
Pumped Storage Hydropower FAST Commissioning Technical Analysis [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
ANL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Vladimir Koritarov, koritarov@anl.gov
This report was developed in tandem with the Furthering Advancements to Shorten Time (FAST) to Commissioning PSH Challenge and represents the underlying technical analysis that informed the competition. Lead by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the report is designed to address barriers and solutions to PSH development by establishing baseline project development knowledge, defining key aspects of project development, and identifying opportunities to reduce project timelines, costs, and risks. The document’s scope includes post-licensing activities and excludes factors related to permitting or licensing. Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Regulatory Management Process
Research Sub-Category
Regulatory Process
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
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Contact Marla Barnes at: marla@hydro.org