Politics in the Zeros

Pumped hydro is one of the oldest and most reliable ways of storing energy. Belgium plans to take excess wind power and use it to pump water out of the lagoon back into the ocean. When power is needed, the water is let back into the lagoon, powering the turbines.

Credit: heco.com

The falling price of solar power during the day in Germany means pumped hydro operators can operate at low prices twice a day now, not just at night when traditional power is cheaper. This potentially doubles output because now reservoirs can be filled twice a day.

With pumped hydro, water is pumped into reservoirs when power is cheap then released as needed to poer turbines.

Hydroelectric power has been around for a long time. With pumped hydro, water is pumped up to a reservoir during times of excess power production. When power is needed, the water is released to power turbines and create electricity, and it is available almost instantly. This is increasingly important in an era when wind and solar produce power on a variable basis.

Vendo Nova III in Portugal will be completed in 2015 with 760 MW of available pumped-storage power as well as hydro.

TVA Racoon Mtn pumped hydro

Renewable energy will now be required to be stored in California so it can be used in off-hours. The most common method is pumped-hydro, with batteries an obvious choice too. With pumped hydro, water is pumped uphill to a holding area. When power is needed, the water is released and used to create energy.

California also just increased its renewable energy goal to 12% by 2012 and 33% by 2020.