| Pumped storage
project near Miriam Vale in the Central Queensland Renewable Energy Zone. Described as the world’s first superhybrid project that integrates renewable energy, storage, and green hydrogen infrastructure, it will incorporate: 600MW of pumped hydro energy storage with 18 hours of operation at full capacity; 300MW of hydrogen generation.; 50MW of liquefaction; 50MW hydrogen fuel cell; and 1.8GW of new wind generation. When fully operational the project will provide 220MW of firm green energy and supply 65 tonnes per day of competitively priced green hydrogen for transport and local industry. It will also enhance water security for the region by increasing the amount of stored water and increasing the capacity of a regional desalination plant. In addition, it will abate on average four million tonnes of carbon per annum which represents a 2.5% reduction in Queensland’s current level of annual carbon emissions. During construction the Flavian superhybrid will generate 500 full time jobs, and when operational, will employ 60 full time employees in both the pumped hydro and hydrogen generation facilities. Suitable land with ideal topography for the site has been secured and detailed feasibility studies have begun. The plan is to reach final investment decisions in 2025, with construction starting in 2026 and then commissioning in 2028.
Sunshine Hydro Chair, Michael Myer, said: “Our unique green hydropower system will provide highly reliable renewable energy to power the equivalent of 600,000 homes to “keep the lights on”. We will apply our innovative closed loop hydropower model, which selects a clever mix of energy inputs, outputs, and storage, which we call a superhybrid, to generate reliable green power and green hydrogen.” Sunshine Hydro is partnering with Energy Estate, an Australian renewable energy and green hydrogen developer, to co-develop and provide green energy to power the Flavian project. Partnerships have also been put in place with one of Queensland’s natural resource management bodies, Burnett Mary Regional Group, and the traditional owners, the Gidarjil Development Corporation. The superhybrid energy ecosystem is managed
through an Advanced Energy Storage Optimising Programme (AESOP) supported by programmed artificial intelligence. Early on the development process a digital twin is made of each project. Sunshine Hydro calls it “an energy industry disrupter that makes these types of important projects financially viable”. The AESOP software tool chooses the best way to
allocate the available renewable energy at any moment – whether to support the electricity grid, create green hydrogen, or save it for another day. It enables new and existing pumped hydro and other deep energy storage projects to maximise decarbonisation and to replace fossil fuel generation plants effectively and efficiently. The Superhybrid ecosystem optimises energy flows and leverages multiple revenue streams to make these projects highly viable. “The combination of the long duration pumped
hydro combined with the fast-acting response of PEM electrolysers can provide grid services second to none,” Myer said. “Our proprietary software ensures that these services are available around the clock every day of the year even though the renewable energy sources are variable. AESOP helps deliver multiple robust f
Testing HSC technology The Grand Maison hydropower plant in the French Alps – which is part of the the European Union (EU)-funded XFLEX HYDRO initiative – is testing how Hydraulic Short Circuit (HSC) technology can enable the simultaneous use of very high head pumps and Pelton turbines, using smart digital controls. HSC allows the tandem operation of the pumps and turbines. It is expected that
this technology will enhance the efficiency of the plant and the flexibility services it can deliver to the electricity grid. Grand Maison is Europe’s largest pumped storage hydropower plant, at
1800MW capacity. The plant has multiple production units including four Pelton turbines and eight reversible pump-turbines. XFLEX HYDRO is demonstrating how smart hydropower technologies can deliver a low-carbon, reliable and resilient power system. There are 19 organisations participating in demonstrations across France, Portugal and Switzerland. During the project, one of the four Pelton turbines at Grand Maison will be
operated using HSC mode to offer a new option of frequency control in pumping mode. For this purpose, new turbine runners – as well as smart digital controls developed for the XFLEX HYDRO project, the Smart Power Plant Supervisor (SPPS) – have been implemented for efficiency and flexibility improvements. “The demonstration phase will provide in-situ data to assess the actual impact of running this mode on the plant, in terms of water cycling, pressure effects and much more,” said Marvyn Mariette, Deputy Plant Manager at EDF. Jean-Louis Drommi, Electrical Expert at EDF, who is leading the project, said the initial phase of the demonstration focused on modelling and computer science performed by project partners: “The plant controls and the master optimisation algorithm had to be updated in order to allow for the simultaneous operation of the pumps and turbines, which is the core of the HSC.” Two test campaigns were performed in May 2021, followed by a successful trial of the demonstration for two weeks in June. The official demonstration started in September.
The demonstration’s objectives are to: maximise plant performance and
increase flexibility using HSC and smart digital controls (the SPPS) to extend the plant operating range and regulate the power in pumping mode; and improve maintenance intervals and minimum outage times via the SPPS. Swiss company Power Vision Engineering (PVE) contributed to the modelling and computer simulation and is a supplier of the HydroClone innovative Real- Time Simulation Monitoring (RTSM) system being used in the demonstration. “A 1-D simulation model of the whole plant was established and validated with the measurements […] to ensure that the extreme pressure and the water level in the surge tank remains always within the allowable limits, to guarantee a safe and reliable operation with increased flexibility,” explained Dr. Christophe Nicolet, Managing Director at PVE. Another Swiss project partner, university HES-SO Valais-Wallis, oversees the modelling, numerical analysis and prototype measurements on the demonstration. Commenting on the results of 3-D flow simulations performed to predict energy losses as well as turbulent flow instabilities, Professor Dr. Cecile Munch-Alligne, Professor in Hydraulic Energy, said: “The numerical results have shown relatively low energy losses, representing less than 0.5 percent of the head. Turbulent flow and instability have been predicted, but at this stage we don’t expect that they will negatively affect the machine or the pipes.” Guillaume Rudelle, Hydro Senior Product Manager at GE Renewable Energy in
France, is leading on the development of solutions to extend flexibility services on the demonstration. “GE performed two test campaigns on-site at Grand Maison. Key mechanical components on the rotating units as well as waterway flows were investigated on the trials. The turbine and pump behavior were excellent. No adverse effects or issues were detected,” he said. “All results give us confidence that HSC at the Grand Maison scheme can become an industrial operating mode.” Swiss research institute and university EPFL is also involved in the demonstration. XFLEX HYDRO is a four-year project running until 2023 and has been funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
For more information about the project and to sign-up for progress updates, visit
xflexhydro.net.
www.waterpowermagazine.com | July 2022 | 11
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