The Global Potential Of Pumped Hydro Storage

Huge Global Study Just Smashed One of The Last Major Arguments Against Renewables

David Nield, 31 March 2019 (Science Alert)

“…[S]cientists have identified 530,000 sites worldwide suitable for pumped-hydro energy storage, capable of storing more than enough energy to power the entire planet…Pumped-hydro is one of the best technologies we have for storing intermittent renewable energy, such as solar power, which means these sites could act as giant batteries, helping to support cheap, fully renewable power grids…[Further on-the-ground research needs to be done…[to verify previous assumptions that sites were too limited] to store enough renewable energy for high-demand times…[T]hese hundreds of thousands of sites have the potential to store around 22 million Gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy…

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[Only a small fraction of the sites identified by algorithmic studies would] support a 100 percent renewable global electricity system…[by using mainly] solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power to pump water uphill when the renewables are plentiful…[so that the water could later] be released and pulled down by gravity to drive turbines and generate electricity…None of the potential sites are located inside national parks or urban areas, and each one has the potential capacity to hold 2-150 GWh of energy…What makes pumped-hydro energy storage so appealing is that it can be adapted as electricity demands change. Water stored in the reservoir can be discharged as and when it's needed…[and can operate fossil fuel-free] at maximum power for between 5 and 25 hours…” click here for more

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