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.
The Grande Dixence Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Dixence at the head of the Val d'Hérémence in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. At 285 m (935 ft) high, it is the tallest gravity dam in the world, seventh tallest dam overall, and the tallest dam in Europe. It is part of the Cleuson-Dixence Complex. With the primary purpose of hydroelectric power generation, the dam fuels four power stations, totaling the installed capacity to 2,069 MW, generating approximately 2,000 GWh annually, enough to power 400,000 Swiss households.
The Bath County Pumped Storage Station is a pumped storage hydroelectric power plant, which is described as the "largest battery in the world", with a maximum generation capacity of 3,003 MW, an average of 2,772 MW, and a total storage capacity of 24,000 MWh. The station is located in the northern corner of Bath County, Virginia, on the southeast side of the Eastern Continental Divide, which forms this section of the border between Virginia and West Virginia. The station consists of two reservoirs separated by about 1,260 feet (380 m) in elevation. It was the largest pumped-storage power station in the world until 2021, when it was surpassed by the Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station.
The Guangdong Pumped Storage Power Station or Guangzhou Pumped Storage Power Station is a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station near Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. Power is generated by utilizing eight turbines, each with a 300 megawatts (400,000 hp) capacity, totalling the installed capacity to 2,400 megawatts (3,200,000 hp). The generated power is sold to CLP customers in Hong Kong. The power station was constructed in two stages, the first four turbines were completed in 1994 and the second four in 2000.
The Goldisthal Pumped Storage Station is a pumped-storage power station in the Thüringer Mountains at the upper run of the river Schwarza in Goldisthal, Germany. It was constructed between 1997 and 2004. It has an installed capacity of 1,060 megawatts (1,420,000 hp), the largest hydroelectric power plant in Germany and one of largest in Europe.
The Langenprozelten Pumped Storage Station is a pumped storage power station near Gemünden am Main at the Main in the under-Frankish district Main Spessart (Bavaria), which went in service in 1976. The hydro-electric power plant has an output of 180 megawatts (240,000 hp). It uses two Francis turbines. The reservoirs are connected by 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) long pipes. The maximum head is 320 metres (1,050 ft). The upper reservoir has a capacity of approximately 1.5 million cubic metres (1,200 acre⋅ft). The maximum energy store ability amounts to 950 megawatt-hours (3,400 GJ).
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 Tianhuangping Pumped Storage Power Station is a pumped-storage power station in Tianhuangping, Anji County of Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The power station has an installed capacity of 1,836 megawatts (2,462,000 hp) utilizing 6 reversible Francis turbines. Construction began in 1993 and the power station was completed in 2004.
The Shisanling Pumped Storage Power Station (十三陵抽水蓄能电厂) is a pumped-storage power station in Changping District of Beijing, China, near the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty from where it got its name Shisanling, which means "thirteen tombs". The power station contains four reversible turbines for an installed capacity of 800 MW.
The Shin-Takasegawa Pumped Storage Station (新高瀬川発電所) uses the Takase River to operate a pumped storage hydroelectric scheme about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west of Ōmachi in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Part of the system is within Chūbu-Sangaku National Park.
The Kazunogawa Pumped Storage Power Station is a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station near Kōshū in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The station is designed to have an installed capacity of 1,600 megawatts (2,100,000 hp) and three of the four 400 megawatts (540,000 hp) generators are currently operational, for a total operational capacity of 1200 MW. Construction on the power station began in 1993 and the first generator was commissioned on 3 December 1999. The second was commissioned on 8 June 2000. The third one became operational on 9 June 2014, six year early due to post-power demand from the Great East Japan earthquake. The fourth and final generator is slated to be commissioned by 2024. It is owned by TEPCO and was constructed at a cost of US$2.2 billion.
The Grand'Maison Dam is an embankment dam on L'Eau d'Olle, a tributary of the Romanche River. It is located in Vaujany of Isère within the French Alps. The primary purpose of the dam is to serve as the upper reservoir for a pumped-storage hydroelectric scheme where Lac du Verney located lower in the valley is the lower reservoir. The dam was constructed between 1978 and 1985 with its power station being commissioned in 1987. With an installed capacity of 1,800 MW, it is the largest hydroelectric power station in France.
The Helms Pumped Storage Plant is located 50 mi (80 km) east of Fresno, California in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range's Sierra National Forest. It is a power station that uses Helms Creek canyon on the North Fork of the Kings River for off-river water storage and the pumped-storage hydroelectric method to generate electricity. After being planned in the early 1970s, construction on the plant began in June 1977 and commercial operations began on 30 June 1984. It has an installed capacity of 1,212 MW and is owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
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).
Waldeck Pumped Storage Station is one of the largest pumped storage power stations in Germany. It is located in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district in the municipality Edertal near the town Waldeck in the northern part of the state Hesse and is owned by German electric utility E.ON.
The Nant de Drance Hydropower Plant is a pumped-storage power station in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is within the municipality of Finhaut, district of Saint-Maurice and about 14 km (8.7 mi) southwest of Martigny. Construction on the power plant began in 2008 and it began operations in 2022. It is owned by Nant de Drance SA, a consortium of Alpiq (39%), SBB (36%), Industrielle Werke Basel (15%) and Forces Motrices Valaisannes (FMV) (10%). The US$1.9 billion plant has installed capacity of 900 MW and an energy storage capacity of 20 GWh.
