Public Webinar: Challenges and Opportunities for Pumped Storage Hydropower in the United States

1 | Wind and Water Power Technologies Office eere.energy.gov

Wind & Water Power Technologies Office

Public Webinar:

Challenges and Opportunities for

Pumped Storage Hydropower in the

United States

May 5, 2016

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm


Agenda

1:00 – 1:15PM Welcoming Remarks and Context for Webinar

Welcome audience

Discuss webinar logistics

Review the agenda and schedule for execution

Set context for the webinar

Outline specific goals for the day

1:15 – 1:45PM Presentation: State of the Industry and Research Efforts in PSH

Discuss current state of the pumped storage industry

Present research in PSH done by Argonne National Laboratory

1:45 – 2:45PM Working Session 1: Modeling and Analysis Investments to Improve Understanding and Valuation of PSH

Existing market challenges facing the industry

Pathways to address challenges through modeling and analysis

2:45 – 3:45PM Working Session 2: Technology Investments to Lower the Cost of Energy and Deployment Timelines

Innovative technologies to address relevant U.S. challenges

Strategic areas for future research and development

3:45 – 4:00PM Closing Remarks

Overview of take away messages

Explanation of next steps

4:00 Adjourn


The focus of the webinar is on the current challenges

and opportunities for pumped storage hydropower in the

U.S.

Purpose of the meeting is not to achieve consensus or

make decisions

Provide input on challenges and opportunities based on

your personal experience

Encourage open dialogue and respectful discussions

Be concise

Mute telephones to avoid background noise

Ground Rules


When speaking, please identify

yourself and your organization

To speak, please use the Raise

Your Hand feature

You may also type in your questions

Ground Rules


Context for Webinar

In FY16, the Water Power Program was appropriated

$5,000,000 to “support competitive demonstrations

to assess the commercial viability of new or

advanced pumped storage technologies.”


Context for Webinar

Federal investments in new or advanced PSH technologies would be valuable

for the following reasons:

• There is renewed interest in PSH plants today due to their ability to integrate

variable renewable energy technologies.

• PSH is arguably the only prevalent large scale energy storage system that has

proven to be reliable and effective.

• New PSH technology advancements hold the promise for greater efficiencies

and greatly improved abilities to assist in grid stabilization.

• Nearly all pumped storage development in the last 30 years has occurred in

Europe and Asia.

• While there is strong interest in the U.S. in constructing new plants, their

development may be hindered by a variety of issues related to cost, market for

ancillary benefits, and regulatory processes.


Argonne National Laboratory

• Pumped Storage and Potential Hydropower from Conduits – Report to Congress (in

collaboration with ORNL)

• Pumped Storage Hydro: Benefits for Grid Reliability and Integration of Variable Renewable

Energy

• Modeling and Analysis of Value of Advanced Pumped Storage Hydropower in the United

States

Idaho National Laboratory

• Real-Time Dynamic and Transient Modeling of Pumped Storage Hydropower Plants (in

collaboration with ANL and NREL)

• Integrated Hydropower and Storage Systems Operation for Enhanced Grid Services (in

collaboration with ANL and NREL)

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

• Real Time Market Analysis for Pumped Storage Hydropower

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

• New Pumped Storage Hydropower in the United States: Benefits, Risks, Revenues, and

Potential

• Feasibility of Modular Pumped Storage Hydropower (m-PSH) in the United States

Program-funded Work


Request for Information (RFI)

• A Request for Information was released on February 18 to invite input regarding

the challenges associated with PSH development in the U.S.

• The RFI asked a series of questions about the core technology and market

challenges to PSH development in the U.S. as they related to:

Conventional (i.e. fixed speed) PSH

Advanced (i.e. adjustable speed and ternary) PSH

Utility-scale and small or modular PSH

• Received 15 responses from:

Academia

National labs

Consultants

Trade associations

Equipment manufacturers

Project developers


Summary of RFI Responses

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

PSH Response Breakout by Category

National Labs Academia Trade Associations Equipment & Project Developers Consultants

Technology Markets Cost Other


Wind & Water Power Technologies Office

Presentation: State of the Industry

and Research Efforts in PSH

Vladimir Koritarov

PSH Webinar

May 5, 2016

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm.


PSH Webinar

Working Sessions


1. What are the key industry priorities that need to be

addressed within the next five years? What about

10, 20, or 30 year priorities?

2. What can be done to address these key priorities to

decrease deployment times and decrease the cost

of pumped storage development?

a. What can DOE do?

b. What can industry do?

Working Session Questions


PSH Webinar

Working Session 1Modeling and Analysis Investments to

Improve Understanding and Valuation

of PSH


• Advanced PSH development is occurring in other countries because of economic factors

rather than technical barriers

• Under current market structures PSH plants are not compensated for the variety of

services that they provide in both generation and pump mode

• Most electricity markets do not optimize the operation of PSH from the system perspective,

thus not utilizing the full benefits and capabilities of PSH technologies

• The increasing use of natural gas is suppressing peak/off-peak energy price differentials

• There are a series of emerging storage and grid management technologies (i.e. smart

meters and demand response) which are making the grid itself more flexible

• An increasingly interconnected grid means that markets and utilities can share flexibility

resources across balancing authorities, making the grid more flexible and, in turn, PSH

less valuable

• Batteries are in direct competition with PSH and are currently being built near variable

renewable resources at the MW scale as they can be constructed quickly, with fewer

regulatory hurdles, better financing terms, and shorter payback times

Working Session 1Challenges Identified by RFI


• Sub-hourly scheduling of PSH plants may provide for additional price arbitrage

opportunities, thus generating additional revenue streams for PSH technologies

• Additional revenue could be achieved by exploiting the versatility of adjustable-speed PSH,

such that the unit offers curtailable load for frequency regulation and demand response in

both pumping and generation mode

• Integration of new PSH technologies with variable generation can increase market

revenues above those possible when operating storage and variable generation separately

• Modular PSH located near load centers with high variability in electricity consumption could

provide significant value through voltage regulation and peak shaving and defer new

transmission and distribution infrastructure, providing sufficient benefits to justify costs

• Potential for optimization of PSH plants by grid operators (ISO/RTO) in day-ahead and

real-time markets

• Financial viability studies that examine both potential costs and revenue streams under

numerous plausible future scenarios in order to assess risk

• National analysis of the trade-offs among different storage technologies and operation

methodologies could provide insight into market opportunities for various storage

technologies as well as favorable market design characteristics

Working Session 1Opportunities Identified by RFI








a. What can DOE do?




PSH Webinar

Working Session 2Technology Investments to Lower the

Cost of Energy and Deployment

Timelines


• There is a lack of familiarity and operational experience with advanced PSH technologies

in the U.S.

• New technologies such as modular and underground PSH have not been built and

demonstrated at large scales in the U.S. and are therefore relatively unknown to investors,

developers, and utilities.

• PSH requires an upper and lower storage reservoir and water conveyance to connect

them, which is a significant infrastructure and cost challenge

• A major cost component of underground closed-loop PSH is mining and excavation

• More time is required for PSH construction compared to other technologies

• PSH may have greater operational environmental impacts than other storage technologies

Working Session 2Challenges Identified by RFI


• Advancements in the construction and commercial manufacturing industries (e.g.

advanced materials for water conveyance and 3D printing) could significantly impact the

development of PSH by reducing construction costs through innovative materials and

advanced designs

• Cost reduction of PSH operation is possible using advanced control strategies, such as

Fast Power Control and Fast Speed Control

• There is renewed interest among PSH owners in upgrading existing conventional PSH

plants to advanced PSH technology to obtain enhanced operational flexibility, but first it

must first be determined if such a conversion is technically feasible and cost-effective.

• Technologies that reduce costs of civil works associated with reservoir and conveyance

construction

• Affordable reversible pump-turbines at small (<10 MW) scales

Working Session 2Opportunities Identified by RFI








a. What can DOE do?




Thank You!

Please email any questions or additional comments to

[email protected]

PSH Webinar

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Public Webinar: Challenges and Opportunities for Pumped Storage Hydropower in the United States

Engineering

Transcript of Public Webinar: Challenges and Opportunities for Pumped Storage Hydropower in the United States