pumped-storage plant
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GC: n

CT: There’s another type of hydropower plant, called the pumped-storage plant. In a conventional hydropower plant, the water from the reservoir flows through the plant, exits and is carried down stream. A pumped-storage plant has two reservoirs:

  • Upper reservoir – Like a conventional hydropower plant, a dam creates a reservoir. The water in this reservoir flows through the hydropower plant to create electricity.
  • Lower reservoir – Water exiting the hydropower plant flows into a lower reservoir rather than re-entering the river and flowing downstream.

S: http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/hydropower-plant2.htm (last access: 22 August 2016)

N: 1. Usual abbreviation: PSP.
2. Using a reversible turbine, the plant can pump water back to the upper reservoir. This is done in off-peak hours. Essentially, the second reservoir refills the upper reservoir. By pumping water back to the upper reservoir, the plant has more water to generate electricity during periods of peak consumption.
3. Pumped storage hydropower plants store excess “green” energy and release it later. This significantly prevents the curtailment of renewable energies. The study showed that, with pumped storage hydropower plants, we in Germany could re-cycle approximately 70 % of the excess generated by wind power and photovoltaic plants in 2030. The stored RE excess would be stored and released CO2-free.
4. Pumped storage hydropower plants react very flexibly and dynamically to fluctuations in generation and consumption and can compensate for them reliably and at short notice. This flexibility is very important for a high quality of supply, especially with the planned further expansion of renewable energies.
Even in the event of negative residual loads, that is when there are still excesses from renewable energies despite shut down thermal power plants, pumped storage can prevent the curtailment of wind and photovoltaic plants. Thermal power plants are not able to provide such “negative” power.

S: 1. http://www.power-technology.com/projects/tehri-pumped-storage-plant/ (last access: 22 August 2016); FCB. 2. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/hydropower-plant2.htm (last access: 22 August 2016). 3 & 4. http://voith.com/en/t3400_e_Broschuere_PSW_2014-12-02_low.pdf (last access: 22 August 2016).

OV: pumped storage plant

S: http://energystorage.org/energy-storage/technologies/pumped-hydroelectric-storage (last access: 22 August 2016)

SYN: 1. pumped-storage power plant. 2. pumped storage station. 3. pumped storage hydropower plant.

S: 1. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52015IE0898 (last access: 22 August 2016). 2. http://energystorage.org/energy-storage/technologies/pumped-hydroelectric-storage (last access: 22 August 2016). 3. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/05/a-solution-to-intermittent-renewables-using-pumped-hydropower.html (last access: 22 August 2016).

CR: hydroelectric power plant, water hammer.