A Comparison of the Environmental Effects of Open-Loop and Closed-Loop Pumped Storage Hydropower

Technical Report · Wed Apr 01 04:00:00 EDT 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1656705· OSTI ID:1656705

Saulsbury, Bo ^[1]

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1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Pumped storage hydropower (PSH) is a type of energy storage that uses the pumping and release of water between two reservoirs at different elevations to store water and generate electricity (Figure ES-1). When demand for electricity is low, a PSH project can use low cost energy to pump water from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir for storage. When demand for electricity is high, a PSH project can release water from the upper reservoir through a powerhouse to generate electricity. Traditionally, this meant that PSH plants generated power during the day and pumped at night, with modest diurnal or seasonal variation.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Water Power Technologies Office (EE-4W) (Water Power Technologies Office Corporate)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1656705
• Report Number(s): PNNL--29157; 8266
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

13 HYDRO ENERGY
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
PSH
hydropower
hydrowires
pumped
storage
water