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. The method 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. Although the losses of the pumping process make the plant a net consumer of energy overall, the system increases revenue by selling more electricity during periods of peak demand, when electricity prices are highest. If the upper lake collects significant rainfall or is fed by a river then the plant may be a net energy producer in the manner of a traditional hydroelectric plant.
An underground power station is a type of hydroelectric power station constructed by excavating the major components from rock, rather than the more common surface-based construction methods.
The Wivenhoe Power Station is situated between the Splityard Creek Dam and Lake Wivenhoe. The Splityard Creek Dam is situated in hills adjacent to Lake Wivenhoe and is about 100 metres (330 ft) above it.
The Mahi is a river in western India. It rises in Madhya Pradesh and, after flowing through the Vagad region of Rajasthan, enters Gujarat and flows into the Arabian Sea. It is one of the relatively few west-flowing rivers in India, alongside the endorheic Luni River, the Sabarmati River, the Tapi River and the Narmada River. Most peninsular rivers in India flow eastward into the Bay of Bengal or northward into the Ganges River.
The Robert Moses Niagara Hydroelectric Power Station is a hydroelectric power station in Lewiston, New York, near Niagara Falls. Owned and operated by the New York Power Authority (NYPA), the plant diverts water from the Niagara River above Niagara Falls and returns the water into the lower portion of the river near Lake Ontario. It uses 13 generators at an installed capacity of 2,525 MW (3,386,000 hp).
Bhira Hydroelectric Project is an electricity generating complex in Bhira, Maharashtra state, India. It generates power using water from the nearby Mulshi Dam. Bhira lies approximately 150 km from Mumbai. Its construction was completed in 1927.
The Mahanirmiti or Mahagenco formerly known as MSEB is a major power generating company in the state of Maharashtra, India and a wholly owned subsidiary of Maharashtra State Electricity Board. With a total generation of 14,400 MW, it is the second largest power producing company in India. The power generated by Mahagenco is supplied to Maharashtra. It was a part of Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) until 6 June 2005.
The Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme is a pumped-storage power station in the escarpment of the Little Drakensberg range straddling the border of the KwaZulu-Natal and Free State provinces, South Africa. It is about 22 km (14 mi) North-East of Van Reenen.
The Siah Bisheh Pumped Storage Power Plant, also spelled Siyāhbisheh and Siah Bishe, is located in the Alborz Mountain range near the village of Siah Bisheh and 48 km (30 mi) south of Chalus in Mazandaran Province, Iran. The power plant uses the pumped-storage hydroelectric method to generate electricity during periods of high energy demand, making it a peaking power plant, intended to fulfill peak electricity demand in Tehran 60 km (37 mi) to the south. When complete it will have an installed generating capacity of 1,040 megawatts (1,390,000 hp) and a pumping capacity of 940 megawatts (1,260,000 hp). Planning for the project began in the 1970s and construction began in 1985. It was delayed from 1992 until 2001 and the first generator went online in May 2013. The remaining generators were commissioned by 1 September 2015. The power plant is the first pumped-storage type in Iran and will also use the country's first concrete-face rock-fill dam – two of them.
The Cruachan Power Station is a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The scheme can provide 440 MW of power and produced 705 GWh in 2009.
The Kölnbrein Dam is an arch dam in the Hohe Tauern range within Carinthia, Austria. It was constructed between 1971 and 1979 and at 200 metres (660 ft) high, it is the tallest dam in Austria. The dam's reservoir serves as the primary storage in a three-stage pumped-storage power system that consists of nine dams, four hydroelectric power plants and a series of pipeline and penstocks. The complex is owned by Verbund power company and is referred to as the Malta-Reisseck Power Plant Group. The installed capacity of the group is 1,028.5 MW and its annual generation is 1,216 gigawatt-hours (4,380 TJ).
The Lam Takhong Dam is an embankment dam on the Lam Takhong River between Pak Chong District and Sikhio District in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand. The dam was originally constructed in 1974 for the purposes of irrigation and water supply but after 2002, its water storage also serves as the lower reservoir for the Lam Takhong pumped storage power plant, Thailand's first power plant of that type.
The Srinagarind Dam is an embankment dam on the Khwae Yai River in Si Sawat District of Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. The purposes of the dam are river regulation and hydroelectric power generation. The dam's power station has a 720 megawatts (970,000 hp) capacity of which 360 megawatts (480,000 hp) is pumped storage. The dam was named after Princess Srinagarindra.
The Koyna Hydroelectric Project is the largest hydroelectric power plant in India, just after Tehri Dam Project. It is a complex project with four dams including the largest dam on the Koyna River, Maharashtra hence the name Koyna Hydroelectric Project. The project site is in Satara district.
The Hohhot Pumped Storage Power Station, also known by Huhehaote, is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, China. It uses the pumped-storage hydroelectric method to generate electricity. The plant has an installed capacity of 1,224 megawatts (1,641,000 hp). Construction began in 2005 and the first generator was commissioned on 20 November 2014. The second generator was commissioned on 26 December 2014 and the final two were commissioned in June 2015.
The Edolo Pumped Storage Plant is located along the Oglio River just downstream of Edolo, Brescia Province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Using the pumped-storage hydroelectric method, it has an installed capacity of 1,000 megawatts (1,300,000 hp). Its generators were commissioned between April 1984 and November 1985. Lake Avio was previously completed in 1929 and Lake Benedetto completed in 1940.
The Rocky Mountain Hydroelectric Plant is a pumped-storage power plant located 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Rome in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is named after Rock Mountain on top of which the plant's upper reservoir is located. Construction on the plant began in 1977 and it was commissioned in 1995. After upgrades were completed in 2011, the plant has an installed capacity of 1,095 megawatts (1,468,000 hp). It is owned by both Oglethorpe Power and Georgia Power which have 75 percent and 25 percent stakes, respectively.
The Vianden Pumped Storage Plant is located just north of Vianden in Diekirch District, Luxembourg. The power plant uses the pumped-storage hydroelectric method to generate electricity and serves as a peaking power plant. Its lower reservoir is located on the Our River, bordering Germany, and the upper is elevated above on the nearby Saint Nicholas Mountain. Construction on the plant began in 1959 and the first pump-generators were commissioned in 1962. A tenth pump-generator was installed in 1976 bringing the plant's installed generating capacity to 1,096 megawatts (1,470,000 hp). The plant generates an average of 1,650 gigawatt-hours (5,900 TJ) annually but of course consumes even more. Generally the efficiency of this energy storage method is around 70–80%. The plant is owned by Société électrique de l'Our and RWE. Construction on an eleventh pump-generator began in 2010 and it is expected to be commissioned in 2013, which will bring the plant's installed capacity to 1,296 megawatts (1,738,000 hp).
Mahi Bajaj Sagar Dam is a dam across the Mahi River. It is situated 16 kilometres from Banswara town in Banswara district Rajasthan, India. The dam was constructed between 1972 and 1983 for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation and water supply. It is the longest dam and second largest dam in Rajasthan. It is named after Jamnalal Bajaj. It is the biggest multipurpose project for tribal area of Rajasthan.
Ghatghar Dam refers to two associated gravity dams built using roller-compacted concrete, the first use in India. They are situated in Ghatghar village in Ahmednagar district Maharashtra, India. Both dams create a lower and upper reservoir for the 250 MW pumped-storage hydroelectric power station. The upper Ghatghar dam is 15 m (49 ft) tall and on the Pravara River, a tributary of Godavari river. The lower Ghatghar dam is 86 m (282 ft) tall and located on the Shahi Nalla which is a tributary of Ulhas River to the south west of the upper reservoir in a steep valley. The hydro power project diverts Godavari river basin water outside the basin area to a west flowing river of Western ghats.
