Insight |
From top to bottom: Platzspitz Park in Zurich, Switzerland. Research has shown how weir regulation here can be used to help address efficient water management for run-of-river power plants
Limmerensee reservoir surrounded by mountains in Switzerland
At 285m high, Grande Dixence is the world’s highest gravity dam, nestled at the end of the Dix Valley in Switzerland
Ideal test bed The Himalayan region of Nepal has been described
as being “an ideal testbed” to study pumped storage systems given its high topographic gradients, large flow fluctuations, and prevalent energy demand patterns. The Government of Nepal is currently exploring several possible locations for pumped storage schemes such as Begnas-Rupa (150MW), Lower Seti (104MW), and Kulekhani (100MW), while around 2800 potential locations in the Himalayas were identified by the Global Pumped Hydro Storage Atlas which used GIS-based algorithms to identify off-river schemes, such as two reservoirs located in proximity but at different altitudes and connected by a pipe or tunnel. According to the authors of a new report published in Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, called ‘Nepal Himalaya offers considerable potential for pumped storage hydropower’, previous studies provide important insights into potential PSH locations in Nepal but are only focused on exploring limited configurations. They add that “nationwide identification of potential locations for PSH considering a wide range of configurations (eg lakes, hydropower projects, rivers, and available flat terrain) is crucial to developing reliable decision support systems for the sustainable utilisation of water resources”. Described as being the first of its kind to explore the suitability of pumped storage schemes and their potential in the Himalayas, the major aim of this study was to characterise the baseline energy potential of PSH across the Himalayas by addressing three key research questions: 1. What are the theoretical, technical, and exploitable potential of PSH in the Himalayas?
2. What is the preferred reservoir configuration in the Himalayan topography?
3. How do topography and hydroclimatic conditions affect the spatial distribution of PSH?
In their research the authors configured a geospatial model to identify the potential under multiple configurations by pairing lakes, hydropower projects, rivers, and available flat terrain, and consequently estimate the energy storage capacity. The results show that 42% of the theoretical potential of 3000GWh is technically feasible, with flat land-to-river configuration more promising than other configurations. Such findings, the authors add, provide insight into the potential of pumped storage hydropower and provides an entry point for discussion among energy planners, decision-makers, and modellers to develop sustainable energy systems in the Himalayas and beyond.
References
https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth- news/news/2024/04/strengthening-swiss-
hydropower-with-science.html
Nepal Himalaya offers considerable potential for pumped storage hydropower by Rupesh Baniya, Rocky Talchabhadel, Jeeban Panthi, Ganesh R Ghimire, Sanjib Sharma, Prithvi Dhwoj Khadka, Sanghoon Shin, Yadu Pokhrel, Utsav Bhattarai, Rajaram Prajapati, Bhesh Raj Thapa, Ramesh Kumar Maskey. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments. Volume 60, December 2023, 103423 https://doi. org/10.1016/
j.seta.2023.103423
10 | Yearbook 2024 |
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