Within this thematic area, business associates will receive technical assistance from national laboratories focused on assessing existing or potential PSH projects.
Harmonizing Power and Dependability with Craig-Hayden PSH
In this initiative, rPlus will collaborate with NREL and ORNL to analyze the operational and grid stability value of a proposed PSH facility situated between the towns of Craig and Hayden in Colorado. The team will illustrate how incorporating the Pumped Storage Hydro Valuation Tool with NREL’s open-source, manufacturing cost modeling suite and sophisticated stability modeling can lead to precise assessments of possible PSH facilities. This project aims to provide the hydropower sector with a practical example of PSH valuation.
Establishing a Revenue Framework for Extended-Duration Energy Storage
The National Hydropower Association will partner with Argonne and ORNL to explore the value of PSH and its services in various regions and electricity markets across the U.S. The team will employ the Pumped Storage Hydro Valuation Tool and additional computational models to ascertain the potential revenue of technical and operational hydropower practices to support use cases for long-duration energy storage. Accurate assessment of PSH and long-duration energy storage will enhance business models for the advancement of future PSH projects, which could facilitate the integration of more renewable resources into the grid.
Marine Pumped Hydroelectric Energy Storage: Concept Design and Use-Case Evaluation of Hybrid Offshore Wind/Storage Power Plants
RCAM Technologies will collaborate with Argonne, PNNL, and NREL to assess the viability of integrating marine pumped hydroelectric (MPH) technology with offshore wind under future grid and policy scenarios, laying the groundwork for a grid-connected pilot demonstration. MPH is a PSH technology that operates by cycling water in and out of large concrete spheres on the ocean floor to generate and store energy on demand. This initiative has the potential to create additional future deployment opportunities for PSH in oceanic settings near major U.S. coastal cities.
PSH Solutions for the Hawaiian Islands
The Hawai‘i State Energy Office will obtain technical support from NREL and PNNL in employing the Pumped Storage Hydro Valuation Tool to assess the financial feasibility of PSH at four sites on publicly owned land across O‘ahu, Maui, Moloka‘i, and Hawai‘i Island. This project will evaluate the feasibility of PSH under multiple future grid and policy conditions, identifying potential economic growth and grid benefits throughout the state of Hawai’i.
Technoeconomic Analysis for PSH at the Twentymile Mine Site
Rye Growth will partner with PNNL to explore business opportunities for PSH at the Twentymile coal mining site in Colorado. This project will examine the advantages of utilizing repurposed mine sites for PSH development and provide data that Rye Growth can apply to additional PSH prospects at mining locations across the U.S.
Technoeconomic Analysis of Paired PSH with Offshore Wind Located Off the Southern Oregon Coast
Rye Growth will collaborate with Argonne, PNNL, and INL to conduct a power market study and grid stability evaluation of two proposed PSH sites in Southwest Oregon, paired with utility-scale offshore wind projects. This endeavour will model PSH’s contributions to offshore wind from generation and transmission perspectives and promote business opportunities for combining PSH and offshore wind in the U.S.
The Oceanus Integrated PSH and Desalination Facility
Oceanus will work alongside Argonne, ORNL, and PNNL on a technoeconomic evaluation of its Integrated Pumped Hydro Reverse Osmosis Clean Energy System (IPHROCES). IPHROCES represents an innovative technology that merges a seawater PSH plant with a reverse-osmosis desalination facility to deliver an integrated energy storage and fresh-water supply system. Incorporating a desalination process into a PSH plant generates additional revenue streams, thereby enhancing the value of future PSH developments.
