Pumped storage | geomembrane lining, drainage and collection of
water that leaks through the geomembrane lining, and support of the geomembrane lining material. Detailed design of a geomembrane lining system cannot be completed until a geomembrane lining manufacturer has been selected. For design-bid- build type projects, the owner and engineer will need to decide whether to select the manufacturer during preparation of the overall project design, or leave final design details and selection of the manufacturer to the contractor. For design-build and engineer- procure-construct projects, selection of the lining system and geomembrane lining system may be left to the design-build or EPC teams. No pumped storage specific design guidelines for geomembrane lining systems or specific regulations on their use in the US could be identified in the literature search conducted for this study.
Areas identified for further investigation and study include:
Expanding the assessment to include all lining systems such as dense asphalt concrete, concrete facings and clay. Performing a market assessment. Engaging the Federal regulatory Energy Commission and other agencies to better understand regulatory issues.
Developing a cost model for pricing geomembrane lining systems for pumped storage applications. Developing a preliminary reference design and cost assessment.
Boosterpump Interest in upgrading existing hydropower plants to
pumped storage facilities is on the rise due to the need for energy storage in the ongoing energy transition. According to research published in Renewable
Energy, the boosterpump concept offers a possible solution for overcoming any limitations when reconstructing existing hydropower plants to pumped storage. Studies have shown that it is technically feasible for both the 50MW Roskrepp and the 300MW Vinje hydropower plants in southern Norway. Commissioned in 1979 and in need of major
Below: Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. Glen Earrach Energy Limited is working on a new 2GW pumped storage plant here
refurbishment, Roskrepp has one vertical Francis unit and an average annual production of 105GWh, utilising the head between the upstream Roskreppfjorden and the downstream Øyarvatn reservoirs. Reconstruction into a pumped storage plant is of interest owing to the large upstream and
downstream reservoirs, the short operation time of the power plant, and an operational restriction on drawdown of the lower reservoir during summer. Vinje was commissioned in 1964 and has three Francis turbines, each having a nominal discharge of 50m3
/sec. This project utilises the head between
Våmarvatn and Vinjevatn. Once again, reconstruction of Vinje into a pumped storage project is of interest due to the large upstream and downstream reservoirs, and the short operation time of the power plant. In addition one of the units is currently experiencing challenges related to vibration from one of the runners, and so changing the runner may be combined with an upgrade to a reversible pump turbine. Research carried out by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Statkraft Energi and Tidetec presents technical solutions on a feasibility level. It explains that the boosterpump makes it possible to reconstruct the turbine and rehabilitate the generator unit with the same fixed speed for both turbine and pumping. It can be placed in the existing tailrace surge tank and is connected and disconnected to the waterway with gates. The proposed arrangement claims to solve all challenges related to start, stop, load changes and pump trip by introducing a water volume between the reversible pump turbine and boosterpump through a system of overflow weirs. The technology is currently considered to be at TRL 4-5 and to lift to a higher level, experimental testing of the full system in relevant conditions is necessary. Before full scale application can be realised more research and development are required. Further work on this topic is encouraged to develop solutions that are more technically optimised and that can cut costs to make them more economically attractive. According to the authors, Kaspar Vereidea, Livia
Pitorac, Rachel Zeringue and Arne Kollandsru, the boosterpump is a promising solution to allow for the construction of more pumped storage, a necessary requirement for the renewable energy transition.
Plan ahead Earlier in the year, the President of the International
Hydropower Association, Malcolm Turnbull, wrote an open letter to the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, welcoming the government’s decision to promote the development of long duration storage through a cap and floor scheme. Turnbull reiterated how 7GW of shovel-ready pumped storage projects, with over 135GWh of storage capacity in the UK, will be “absolutely critical” for a least cost transition to zero emission energy. Governments must plan ahead for their electricity
storage to ensure projects are underway as soon as possible, Turnbull said. He also spoke about how he had to confront such issues during his time as Prime Minister of Australia. In 2016 a statewide electricity blackout in South Australia was caused by rapid renewable expansion with little thought given to firming. Consequently Turnbull’s government put storage and pumped hydro on the agenda and started work on Snowy Hydro 2.0 which will be the largest pumped storage project in the world upon completion. If governments are not building long duration
storage projects themselves, they must provide the right framework to enable the rapid deployment of pumped storage, he goes on to say. As most electricity
28 | July 2024 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
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