Water storage and energy storage during dry season

What are the benefits of seasonal pumped-storage reservoirs?

The main benefits of seasonal pumped-storage reservoirs are small flooded areas and evaporative losses, whilst providing water and energy storage in locations where conventional reservoir dams are not viable.

Can seasonal pumped hydropower storage provide long-term energy storage?

Seasonal pumped hydropower storage (SPHS) can provide long-term energy storage at a relatively low-cost and co-benefits in the form of freshwater storage capacity. We present the first estimate of the global assessment of SPHS potential, using a novel plant-siting methodology based on high-resolution topographical and hydrological data.

Does seasonal pumped-storage cost more than conventional reservoir dams?

This comparison shows that seasonal pumped-storage has higher construction costs than conventional reservoir dams, however, as seasonal pumped-storage has much lower land requirements and evaporation losses, it becomes more attractive to conventional reservoir dams in locations with plain topography and where water is scarce.

Is PHS a seasonal energy and water storage alternative?

Given the current costs reduction in other technologies offering daily energy storage (particularly batteries), PHS is anticipated to gain importance as a seasonal energy and water storage alternative. A SPHS plant consists of a high-head variation storage reservoir built in parallel to a major river.

Why is dry-season water availability more important than wet season?

Compared with wet season, the dry-season water availability seems more important because of its key influences on vegetation status, ecosystem sustainability, and carbon cycles (Greve and Seneviratne, 2015; Murray-Tortarolo et al., 2016).

Why do we need a water storage system?

SPHS can also be attractive to deal with the load problems emerging from electricity consumption and supply seasonal variations and increasing use of intermittent sources of generation. The storage of water can also help to overcome water shortage problems.