Pumped Hydro Energy Storage: It Takes A Heck of a Long Time
The most commonly used method of storing energy for the power grid is pumping water uphill and then letting the water move downhill to produce electricity when needed. It’s called pumped hydro, and like other energy storage systems, it can make the power network less volatile and help utilities avoid using expensive backup power plants. Rather than firing up last-resort plants when demand spikes, they can dispatch stored energy. But beyond the obvious fact that pumped hydro can only be implemented in hilly areas, the technology has another very serious hurdle: It spends years in regulatory and environmental review purgatory.
At a California Energy Commission conference last week, Michael DeAngelis, the manager of Advanced Renewable and Distributed Generation Technologies for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), discussed a 400 MW pumped hydro energy storage project called “Iowa Hill” near Placerville, Calif., that the utility is working on. The project has been under serious discussion since 2001, when SMUD started going through a relicensing process with FERC for dams and powerhouses in the Sierra Nevada region. But, according to SMUD documents, the site has been under consideration for pumped hydro “on and off since 1972, when Bechtel Corp. performed preliminary engineering on the Iowa Hill site.” DeAngelis said last week that if construction starts on the project this year, the best estimate for when it would start operating is 2015.
Between serious discussions and production, that’s over a decade. And that’s almost 40 years from basic concept to completion. At that rate, we can just wait for global warming to take effect before adding the crucial capacity of energy storage to the power grid. To be fair, as Better Place’s Sven Thesen pointed out at a recent energy storage conference, there are some really serious environmental implications of pumping water up and down mountains. But decades? Startups, start looking into alternatives like these eight technologies and this one that just uses a heat pump and gravel.
Katie,
Did they also mention the vast amounts of methane that will be produced by covering vegetation with water to decompose, and also the release of methane, gathered from uphill run-off, that occurs when water is released downhill for generation due to the pressure drop? Just wondering…
this is darkdreamer speaking let me say that i appriciate the fact that u guys are trying to save te earth
A pumped storage facility has been in operation in Ludington Michigan since 1973.
http://www.consumersenergy.com/welcome.htm?/content/hiermenugrid.aspx?id=31
Charles, they didn’t mention that. Bruce, thanks, yes, pumped hydro is by far the most common form of energy storage for the grid in use today.
“But beyond the obvious fact that pumped hydro can only be implemented in hilly areas. . .”
This statement is incorrect. There are several pumped hydro systems currently in operation that make use of underground caverns and mine shafts in conjunction with ground-level reservoirs.
as far as global warming, its a net loss of energy wasted during pumping water. the utilities do it because they can sell energy at higher prices during peak hours. its not to help the environment