Revisiting the potential of pumped-hydro energy storage: A method to detect economically attractive sites

This study innovatively combines a set of methods to assess the economic potential of pumped hydro energy storage. It first provides a method based on geographic information systems to study the potential of pumped-hydro for different topologies. Second, using cost estimates for each identified site, cost-potential curves are derived. Finally, these curves are used for planning a fully renewable system to assess their impact on investment recommendations. Applications to Chile, Peru, and Bolivia show the usability of the methods. Over 450 pumped-hydro locations are identified, totaling around 20 TWh (or 1600 GW of installed capacity with 12 h of storage). These numbers exceed by 20-fold the projected daily energy demand of the corresponding countries. When taking into account investment costs, most locations are cheaper than current Li-ion batteries, but only some are expected to remain competitive in the future. When using the resulting cost-potential curves to design a future energy system, the planning tool recommends about 1.6 and 5.0 times more pumped-hydro storage compared to using average values and literature values, respectively. These differences underline the significance of the found cost curves. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study presents an innovative approach to assess the economic potential of pumped hydro energy storage, applying it to Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. The findings suggest significant potential for pumped-hydro storage in these countries, with cost estimates indicating potential competitiveness compared to current lithium-ion batteries. The resulting cost-potential curves provide valuable insights for planning future energy systems with increased pumped-hydro storage capacity.