pumped hydro storage

Indian hydropower provider SJVN said the pumped hydro storage project will be deployed across Darzo Nallah, a tributary of the Tuipui River.

Three pumped hydro projects that would deliver a combined 1,035 MW/9,480 MWh of dispatchable capacity are among six projects that have been declared critical, state-significant infrastructure by the New South Wales government in Australia.

The Happurg pumped storage plant was shut down in 2011 for safety reasons after the base of the upper reservoir was damaged. Uniper has carried out feasibility studies on the site, with a view to reconnecting it to the grid in 2028. The facility can store approximately 850 MWh of electricity in the form of pumped water.

According to projections from Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy, Southeast Asia’s share of pumped storage hydropower is set to increase nearly eightfold in less than a decade – from 2.3 GW today to 18 GW by 2033. Rystad’s figures say that there is currently 2.7 GW of pumped hydro storage under construction, while the remaining 13.3 GW is in various stages of development.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will conduct economic and technological feasibility studies on two Bulgarian pumped storage hydropower plants due to be operational by 2032. The projects will each add generation capacity of around 800 MW and will both come with a price tag of around €900 ($964) million.

The pipeline of pumped hydro storage projects in the Australian state of Queensland continues to grow, with Victoria-based renewables company BE Power announcing plans to develop an 800 MW/9.6 GWh project at Mount Alma near Gladstone.

State Grid Corp. of China says it has finalized a pumped-hydro storage project consisting of four reversible pump-turbine generator units, each with a capacity of 350 MW. It is located near Xiamen, in China’s Fujian province.

A new partnership will investigate the viability of colocating a closed-loop pumped hydro energy storage facility with solar PV at the site of a former gold mine in Moose River in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Atlantic Mining, owner of the mine, and Natural Forces, a renewables company with 300 MW of operational capacity in Canada, are optimistic the project will be feasible.

Chilean utility Colbún has unveiled plans for a massive pumped storage hydropower project in northern Chile. The facility will use desalinated water from the Pacific Ocean to store energy and use it when it’s most needed.

Evolution Mining is moving forward on a AUD 7 billion ($4.64 billion) plan to build a 2 GW/20 GWh pumped hydro electricity generation facility in the pit of a 20-year-old gold mine in Australia.