The Potential for Pumped Storage Hydropower Development in Mid-Norway.: D1-2012-48

Abstract

AbstractIn June 2012, Germany has been able to supply half of its own electric demand from solar energy. This is one of the promising examples for which renewable energy is taking a larger part in the total demand. But with the increase of solar or wind power on the market, there is more pressure on the stability of the grid and there is a need to balance the surplus of these new sources of energy. One of the most promising technologies for such power balancing is pumped storage hydropower (PSH). There is now a rapidly growing development of pumped storage hydropower in Europe, and a growing interest also in Norway due to the large hydro capacities. The term Green Battery has been introduced, where Norwegian hydropower reservoirs can be charged by surplus wind power and emptied in order to fill in load during calm periods. The background of this thesis starts by a screening process to identify the possible sites in Nord and Sør-Trøndelag. It is followed by a ranking of the sites based on economic and environmental criteria. 31 Sites have been identified gathering a capacity of 15,000 MW for an average construction cost of 3.1 million NOK per MW installed. The main environmental criterion is the water level variation in the reservoirs, limited to 13 cm/h in this study. This first part of this thesis is followed by a pre-feasibility study for the refurbishment of two existing power plants: Bogna and Slind. They are suitable for the installation of pumped storage hydropower technology. They can supply during 4.5 days, 1,100MW and 430 MW (respectively). These capacities are the result of a cost optimization which was realized to select the optimum size of the two pumped storage hydro power plants.