| Energy storage


and sufficient fault level support. In contrast, while batteries can provide fast response times, they are yet to demonstrate their ability to provide the full range of ancillary services needed to support the grid. The potential for batteries to provide ‘synthetic inertia’ or fast frequency response is high but this is balanced by their reliance on system strength to be able to deliver this support. They offer minimal support with fault levels but can still provide some support to system frequency and voltage regulation.


What are the economic benefits associated with pumped storage projects, both in terms of revenue generation and cost savings for the energy system? As our electricity mix evolves, so will the economics of storage. Forecasting revenue for an asset with a lifecycle of up to 100 years requires detailed modelling of a wide range of factors influencing the electricity market. While forecasting revenue for storage projects in the Australian electricity market is still an uncertain business, there are many opportunities in both the existing and emerging markets to guarantee project revenues to a level sufficient to satisfy a lender’s requirements. The traditional revenue source for pumped storage is arbitrage – in other words, making the most of generating when the spot price is high, and pumping when the spot price is low. But this relies on a certain level of predictable variability in the electricity market, and for that variability to continue into the future. Retirement of coal-fired power stations and continued investment in renewables are likely to cement a market in which variability in power generation and volatile energy prices are the norm. Services such as frequency control, inertia and


fault level control have increasing value in a grid with significant amounts of non-synchronous generation. At this stage, the markets for these network support services are very shallow and competition is increasing. However, the need for such services is likely to increase to the point where more significant markets are required and can provide an extra revenue stream for pumped hydro projects.


From a technical standpoint, what are the key considerations and challenges involved in planning, designing, and operating pumped storage facilities? Pumped storage projects require significant capital for development. Key to the successful development of a project are identifying a good site. Choosing the right location is a matter of identifying a site with ideal topography and geology (for two reservoirs separated by a significant change in elevation), an adequate source of water, minimal social and environmental impacts, and good proximity to and location within the transmission network to maximise efficiency of the power’s round trip and minimise losses. With many thousands of potential sites, a developer needs smart methods of filtering to reduce the many possibilities to just a few ideal sites. One of the greatest potential complications and causes of delay in a pumped storage hydropower project is an unwelcome surprise, whether this is an unknown geological condition, or an unacceptable environmental impact. As a result, it is critical to understand the project risks, and to use the early stages of the project to appropriately investigate the project, thus mitigating these risks and reducing the unknowns. These initial investigation costs are an investment worth taking.


www.waterpowermagazine.com | October 2023 | 25


Above: Entura completed a feasibility study for Genex Power’s Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project in North Queensland in 2015-16. The project is now in construction and Entura is serving as Owner’s Engineer


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53