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. Low-cost surplus off-peak electric power is typically used to run the pumps. During periods of high electrical demand, the stored water is released through turbines to produce electric power.
Loch Awe is a large body of freshwater in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such as Innis Chonnell and Inishail.
Loch Quoich is a loch and reservoir situated west of Loch Garry approximately 40 km northwest of Fort William, Lochaber, Scotland. The name means "loch of the quaich". In 1896, it was listed as six miles long and three-quarters of a mile in width, belonging to Mrs. Ellice of Glenquoich, within the parish of Kilmonivaig.
The Falls of Foyers are two waterfalls on the River Foyers, which feeds Loch Ness, in Highland, Scotland. They are located on the lower portion of the River Foyers, and consist of the upper falls, with a drop of 46 feet (14 m) and the lower falls, which drop 98 feet (30 m).
The production of renewable energy in Scotland is a topic that came to the fore in technical, economic, and political terms during the opening years of the 21st century. The natural resource base for renewable energy is high by European, and even global standards, with the most important potential sources being wind, wave, and tide. Renewables generate almost all of Scotland's electricity, mostly from the country's wind power.
The Tummel hydro-electric power scheme is an interconnected network of dams, power stations, aqueducts and electric power transmission in the Grampian Mountains of Scotland. Roughly bounded by Dalwhinnie in the north, Rannoch Moor in the west and Pitlochry in the east it comprises a water catchment area of around 1,800 square kilometres and primary water storage at Loch Ericht, Loch Errochty, Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel, in Perth and Kinross. Water, depending on where it originates and the path it takes, may pass through as many as five of the schemes nine power stations as it progresses from north-west to south-east. The scheme was constructed in the 1940s and 50s incorporating some earlier sites. It is managed by SSE plc.
Keadby Power Stations are a pair of natural gas-fired power stations near Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire, built on the site of an older coal power station. The site lies near the B1392 and the River Trent, and the Scunthorpe-Grimsby railway. Also nearby is the Stainforth and Keadby Canal, which is part of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation. The current stations are operated by SSE Thermal.
Loch Ness is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37 kilometres along the length of the Great Glen southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for claimed sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie". It is one of a series of interconnected, murky bodies of water in Scotland; its water visibility is exceptionally low due to the high peat content of the surrounding soil. The southern end connects to Loch Oich by the River Oich and a section of the Caledonian Canal. The northern end connects to Loch Dochfour via the River Ness, which then ultimately leads to the North Sea via the Moray Firth.
The Glendoe Hydro Scheme for the generation of hydro-electric power is located in the Monadhliath Mountains near Fort Augustus, above Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. The change in financial incentives following the publication of the Renewables Obligation in 2001 caused Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) to reconsider a number of schemes that had been mothballed in the 1960s by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board, and plans for the Glendoe scheme were resurrected.
The River Garry in Inverness-shire is a Scottish river punctuated by two long Lochs, in the region of Lochaber. It flows broadly west to east through Glen Garry, starting in a wilderness to the east of Knoydart and ending at Loch Oich in the Great Glen, which forms part of the Caledonian Canal. There are a few tiny settlements within Glen Garry, but the only village of any size near to the river is Invergarry, at its mouth. Loch Quoich at the western end of the watercourse is dammed by the largest mass earth fill dam in Scotland, and supplies water to Quoich hydroelectric power station. Loch Garry is dammed by a much smaller dam in the gorge where the river begins its descent to Invergarry, and supplies water to Invergarry hydroelectric power station, close to the mouth of the river. Both hydroelectric schemes were built in the 1950s, with the aim of stimulating economic regeneration in the area. They have altered the ecology of the river, as both lochs were made considerably bigger as a result of constructing the dams.
The Cruachan Power Station is a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK. The scheme can provide 440 MW of power and produced 705 GWh in 2009.
India is 5th globally for installed hydroelectric power capacity. As of 31 March 2020, India's installed utility-scale hydroelectric capacity was 46,000 MW, or 12.3% of its total utility power generation capacity. Additional smaller hydroelectric power units with a total capacity of 4,683 MW have been installed. India's hydroelectric power potential is estimated at 148,700 MW at 60% load factor. In the fiscal year 2019–20, the total hydroelectric power generated in India was 156 TWh with an average capacity factor of 38.71%.
As of 2018, hydroelectric power stations in the United Kingdom accounted for 1.87 GW of installed electrical generating capacity, being 2.2% of the UK's total generating capacity and 4.2% of UK's renewable energy generating capacity. This includes four conventional hydroelectric power stations and run-of-river schemes for which annual electricity production is approximately 5,000 GWh, being about 1.3% of the UK's total electricity production. There are also four pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations providing a further 2.8 GW of installed electrical generating capacity, and contributing up to 4,075 GWh of peak demand electricity annually.
The Breadalbane Hydro-Electric Scheme is a hydroelectric scheme in the Breadalbane area of Perthshire, Scotland. It comprises seven power stations which generate 120MW of power from the dams around Loch Lyon, Loch Earn and Loch Tay.
Coire Glas power station is a proposed 1.5GW pumped storage hydroelectric power station in the Scottish Highlands. If built, it will double the UK's ability to store energy for long periods.
The Awe Hydro-Electric Scheme was the penultimate scheme developed by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board. It centres around Loch Awe, in Argyll and Bute, on the southern edge of the Scottish Highlands. It consists of three power stations, two conventional hydro-electric stations, and the Cruachan power station, the first large pumped storage scheme built by the Board. It was completed in 1965.
Kerry Falls Hydro-Electric Scheme, sometimes known as Gairloch is a small-scale hydro-electric power station, built by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board and commissioned in 1952. It is located near Gairloch in Wester Ross, part of the Highlands of Scotland. It was originally designed to supply power to local communities in this remote area, but is now connected to the National Grid.
The Borumba Dam Pumped Hydro Power Station is a proposed 2,000 MW pumped hydro energy storage system at Lake Borumba, located in Imbil, south-west of Gympie in Queensland, Australia. First power is expected in 2030. A state-owned entity called Queensland Hydro is coordinating the project.
Balliemeanoch Pumped Storage Hydro is a proposed pumped storage hydro (PSH) scheme in the Scottish Highlands.
