Researchers Identify Opportunities to Expand Pumped Storage Hydropower

Researchers from two national laboratories conducted studies that found potential for future development of pumped storage hydropower (PSH) technology and highlighted ways to significantly reduce cost, time, and risk for new PSH projects as the United States works to achieve a carbon-free electricity grid by 2035 and a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050. 

In their study, A Review of Technology Innovations for PSH, Argonne National Laboratory researchers performed a landscape analysis of current PSH technology and reviewed a dozen promising new PSH concepts and innovations, including submersible pump-turbines and motor-generators, geomechanical PSH, open-pit mine PSH, and hybrid PSH technologies. They found that several of these new concepts have the potential to significantly reduce cost, time, and risk for the development of new PSH projects. 

For the study, Closed-Loop PSH Resource Assessment for the United States, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers conducted a large-scale study of potential PSH sites across the United States that are separated from a naturally flowing body of water (like a river), also known as closed-loop PSH. Using mapping to track suitable locations and features such as reservoir volume, elevation, and paired upper and lower reservoirs, NREL identified nearly 15,000 possible sites where PSH technology could be deployed in the future.