Firstly, wind and solar power will soon be crucial components of renewable systems. But they cannot stand alone. We need to replace fossil fuels in the future energy mix. And storing wind and solar energy will be vital.
Secondly, when the wind does not blow, and the sun does not shine, we will need an energy backup. In hydropower, they have a proven, efficient technology that can store wind and solar energy for those in need.
Nowadays, no other technology can provide energy storage at the scale required to deliver on climate goals.
So, using a water battery helps strengthen renewable energy systems and enables more wind and solar development.
Water batteries for storing wind and solar energy
First, pumped hydro is a form of hydropower that utilizes two reservoirs at different elevation levels. Also, it operates like a green, rechargeable water battery that absorbs energy when supply exceeds demand.
When there is low demand, water can be pumped from the lower to the upper reservoir, where it is stored. In addition, the water can then be released through a turbine, supplying electricity to the grid at times of need.
Also, traditional storage hydropower, which uses a dam on a river to store water in a reservoir, can be used flexibly to provide base load power; and then ramped up or down at short notice in response to the demands of the system.
As a result of vast amounts of wind and solar power coming onto electricity grids each year, there is an urgent and growing need for new hydropower development to provide green storage, backup, and grid services.
Hybrid renewable technologies
Technology is improving, so hydropower does not always need to be developed in isolation from other renewables. In addition, the generation capacity of hydropower sites can be increased by installing solar PV on the surface of a reservoir.
Finally, combining solar and hydropower can smooth the variability of solar output, thus supporting renewable energy deployment in grids that lack the flexibility to incorporate large injections of intermittent sources.
