pumped storage
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Renewables
A First for India: GE Vernova Commissions Pumped Storage Unit at Hydro Complex
Energy equipment group GE Vernova said it has commissioned the first of four 250-MW variable speed units at THDC India Limited’s Tehri Pumped Storage Hydropower Plant, part of the Tehri Hydropower Complex. The 1-GW expansion will increase the facility’s power generation capacity to 2.4 GW, making it the country’s largest hydropower plant.
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Trends
POWER Digest (March 2025)
Major Solar-Plus-Storage Project Announced in Middle East. A solar-plus-storage project that could provide gigawatts of generation capacity was unveiled in January during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW)
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News and Notes
POWER Digest [October 2024]
China Completes World’s Largest Pumped Storage Facility. China has completed the 3.6-GW Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station, in Hebei province. Operated by the State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC), the
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Hydro
Demonstration to Convert Kentucky Coal Mine to Pumped Hydro Secures Federal Funding
A project that will demonstrate the conversion of a former coal mine in Bell County, Kentucky, into a utility-scale 287-MW pumped storage hydroelectric facility has garnered federal backing from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). Rye Development, a pumped storage hydropower developer, on Sept. 25 secured $12.1 million—the first tranche […]
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Nuclear
India Pledges Support for Nuclear, Coal, and Pumped Storage Projects
Officials in India said that country’s energy transition plan will focus on developing small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), pumped energy storage projects, and more efficient coal-fired power plants. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting the government’s 2024-2025 budget, noted the latest financial allocations outline a shift in priorities for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sitharaman on July […]
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Trends
SRP Shifts from Traditional IRP to ‘Holistic’ Power Planning
Salt River Project (SRP) has become one of the first U.S. utilities to shift from an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to an Integrated System Plan (ISP), a “holistic roadmap” that takes into account evolving power system needs, energy affordability, and carbon reduction goals. The pioneering move by the public power entity that provides power and […]
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Trends
POWER Digest [March 2023]
Pakistan Begins Commercial Operation of 1.3-GW Coal Plant. Pakistan on Feb. 7 began commercial operation of a 1.3-GW coal-fired power plant in the Thar Desert in Sindh province, southern Pakistan. The project
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Hydro
CPS Energy Exploring Novel Geomechanical Pumped Storage Technology
Texas-based CPS Energy, the largest municipally owned electric and natural gas company in the U.S., has entered into a 15-year commercial agreement to explore installing up to 15 MW of geomechanical pumped storage (GPS). The agreement will kick off with a pioneering 1-MW project that will pump water into drilled wells and store it under […]
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Press Releases
Voith Hydro upgrades three power units from Belgium’s largest pumped storage plant Coo-Trois-Ponts owned by ENGIE Electrabel
Modernization of turbines and generators from construction phase Coo I set to deliver increased capacity and performance. Power plant essential to maintaining grid stability in Belgium. Works to span a period of four years. Coo, Belgium. Voith Hydro has won the order to upgrade the power units from the Coo I section at Belgium’s largest […]
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Energy Storage
Large-Volume, Long-Duration Power and Water Storage Project Taking Shape in Idaho
Cat Creek Energy, developer of a 1.1-GW “tribrid” renewable power and water storage project planned near Mountain Home, Idaho, has picked Voith Hydro to design and manufacture equipment for the project’s 720-MW ternary pumped storage component. The development announced on April 29 marks a major milestone for the Cat Creek Energy and Water (CCEW) project. […]
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News
FERC Backs First Compliance Filings on Energy Storage Rule
The energy storage market received a boost Oct. 17 when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the first two compliance filings implementing Order 841, a rule the commission said is designed to eliminate market barriers to electricity storage. Order 841 was enacted in February 2018. The measure directs regional power grid operators to establish […]
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News
Group Will Build ‘First of its Kind’ Pumped-Storage Project in Dubai
The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has awarded a Dh1.437 billion ($391 million) construction contract for a 250-MW hydropower project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a project considered a first of its kind for the Gulf region. The Hatta hydroelectric power plant will use water stored in an upper reservoir at the Hatta […]
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Press Releases
NREL Names FAST Prize Concept Stage Winners
Nine pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) concepts today were named winners of the latest stage in the FAST Commissioning for Pumped-Storage Hydropower (PSH) prize competition. The FAST Prize—which stands for “Furthering Advancements to Shorten Time”—is part of the American-Made Challenges series, designed to accelerate the commissioning times of PSH projects from 10 years to five, while reducing […]
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Press Releases
Voith makes Swiss pumped storage power plant Ritom fit for the future
HEIDENHEIM/QUINTO. Technology group Voith recently received an extensive order for the Ritom pumped storage power plant in Switzerland. The plant has been in operation since as far back as 1920 and will now be replaced by a new facility. Voith will be responsible for design, fabrication, installation and commissioning of the new high-performance generating units. […]
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History
Hydro: An Old Generating Dog Can Offer New Tricks
Hydroelectric power doesn’t get much attention in today’s discussions of how to generate electricity, particularly in a world looking to boost renewable technologies such as wind and solar. But the oldest
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O&M
Hydropower Bill Overwhelmingly Clears Senate, Heads to President’s Desk
The U.S. Senate has cleared a major water infrastructure bill that contains several provisions promoting hydropower development, sending it to the president’s desk. The Senate passed S. 3021, “America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018,” on October 10 through a bipartisan vote of 99–1. Because the House of Representatives unanimously passed the bill in a voice […]
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Press Releases
Voith modernizes high-performance machine in pumped storage power plant in Vianden, Luxembourg
More efficient electricity production: New motor-generator from Voith increases potential output of complete generating set by more than seven percent Faster response to changes in load requirements from the grid Special design for energy transfer saves rebuild costs Heidenheim, Germany. Voith has won the order to modernize a motor-generator in the Vianden pumped storage plant […]
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Press Releases
Voith Signs Contract for Henan Tianchi Pumped Storage Plant
He Nan Province, China (January 16, 2018) — Henan Tianchi Pumped Storage Co., Ltd. (Tianchi PSP) and Voith Hydro Shanghai Co., Ltd. (VHS), in December 2017 signed a contract to purchase equipment at the Henan Tianchi pumped storage plant site. Voith will supply four 300-MW Francis reversible pump turbines and generators and also auxiliary equipment. […]
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Renewables
European Pumped Storage Plants Are in Crisis
A number of baseload generators across Europe have decried the fall in average European wholesale power prices, which some peg to additions of subsidized low-marginal-cost renewable generation to an already
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Renewables
MISO: Avoiding the Mess Facing Other Wholesale Competitive Electric Markets
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (MISO’s) geographic footprint extends down the middle of the U.S. Because of the structure of its market, MISO has artfully avoided some nasty policy and
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Hydro
Trends Suggest New Directions for Global Hydropower
While hydropower installations worldwide fell slightly in 2016 to 31.5 GW compared to 33 GW in 2015, the sector marked a colossal jump in pumped storage installations last year, the International Hydropower
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Energy Storage
California Utility Axes Big Pumped Storage Project
The 400-MW Iowa Hill pumped storage project, planned for a site east of Sacramento as a means of dealing with ever-growing renewable generation in the area, has been canceled by its developer, the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD), because of spiraling costs. The Iowa Hill project (Figure 1) was a planned expansion of the Upper […]
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Renewables
Ludington Pumped Storage Plant Increases Efficiency to Provide Greater Grid Support
Utility-scale energy storage in the form of pumped water storage has a long history. One of the oldest U.S. plants found itself in need of an upgrade after 40 years of service. Having the right equipment for the job is proving to be essential. With the current power market challenges and increasing amounts of variable […]
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Renewables
Spain Inaugurates 2-GW Pumped Storage Facility
Europe’s largest pumped-storage power plant was inaugurated this October in the Júcar River basin in Spain’s eastern province of Valencia as Spanish utility Iberdrola commissioned the final