Pumped storage hydropower plants play a key role in the future of energy, contributing to grid stabilization, renewable energy storage and reduced dependence on fossil fuels. Together with BESS systems, renewable energy storage in pumped storage power plants will be a strategic ally for a resilient, secure and sustainable energy system.
The PSPS is the best tool for energy storage. The pumped storage has the function of energy reserve, and it solves the problem of electricity production and consumption at the same time, and not easy to store. Thus, it can effectively regulate the dynamic balance of the power systems in electricity generation and utilization.
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. A PSH system stores energy in the form of gravitational potential energy of water, pumped from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation.
The basic operating principle is similar for all of them: water flows through a turbine to generate electricity. However, unlike run-of-river or reservoir power plants, pumped storage plants enable us to store and schedule hydroelectric power generation, while also playing a crucial role in stabilizing the power grid.
The pumped storage power station (PSPS) is a special power source that has flexible operation modes and multiple functions. With the rapid economic development in China, the energy demand and the peak-valley load difference of the power grid are continuing to increase.
In the event of a power outage, a pumped storage plant can reactivate the grid by harnessing the energy produced by sending "emergency" water – which is kept in the upper reservoir for this very purpose – through the turbines. Pumped storage hydropower plants fall into two categories: