TOPIC 'Water Usage' on Nov 28, 2008 (CET)
A New Way To Store Pumped Energy
Kema, a Dutch energy consultant, has offered a possible new solution to storing energy for later utilization. This storage station would work under a slightly different principle than its predecessors. Normally, when you think of an energy storage station working through a pump method, the facility would pump reservoirs full of water uphill to let it flow out later through turbines using hydro-power to discharge the stored energy. This plan operates by draining the entire reservoir.
Kema refers to this concept as an “Energy Island” and assumes that the Netherlands will possess a huge wind power generation in future years. The idea behind pumped storage is to capture all the wind possible during exceptionally windy conditions and save it for periods when the wind isn’t blowing at the precise moment it’s needed. This type of facility does not produce any power; it merely stores it.
When there is an abundance of wind and breezy conditions, the excess electricity generated is used to pump the water uphill. Later, when the wind isn’t blowing and you need it to, the water is released to run down through the hydro turbine. Typically, a body of water at a particular height is ideal for this scenario, such as an elevated lake, so that the height differential between the water and the turbine is adequate. The problem in Holland is that the terrain is pretty level and there is not an abundance of mountainous lakes at high levels of elevation.
The Kema consulting group proposes a solution to this problem. They are proposing that circular placement of large dykes be assigned to offshore areas, off the Dutch coast, and that these dykes could build a 6x10 km reservoir to a depth of 50 metres. When energy is at a surplus, the make-shift reservoir would empty back into the North Sea, and when energy is needed, the North Sea fills the reservoir again through turbines residing in the dykes. This process could generate 2 GW (or more) of electricity and last for a period of approximately 15 hours at one given time. The forecast estimate is that this type of storage station could provide 30 GW hours in storage. The energy return is anticipated to be 80 percent.
Sherry Irvin
on behalf of the
BascoTec Internet Limited
Technologie Park 13
33100 Paderborn
Germany
