Global Electricity Storage Potential Exceeds Demand

Researchers at the Australian National University have recently performed a study to figure out how many suitable sites there are for pumped storage power plants. They found that a staggering 86 trillion kilowatt hours could be stored thanks to all the potential power plants that could be created and added to the power grid when necessary.

Understanding the Scale

To give some context, global electricity production from every source, including coal and solar energy, is currently around 30 trillion kilowatt hours, or 30 petawatt hours. This means that even if global electricity demand were to double or triple due to electrifying transportation, boosting industrial production, or generating heat, 86 trillion kilowatt hours would still be enough.

Mapping Opportunities

The locations for these storage power plants have been gathered into an interactive atlas, where users can filter by size and type of pumped storage plant. This makes it easier to visualize where these plants could potentially be established.

The research team also pointed out many benefits of pumped storage power plants. For instance, they do not harm or destroy existing river ecosystems, and they can be constructed in areas with considerable height differences. Compared to traditional dams, they require much less water, and their turbines face lower pollution levels because of reduced sediment.

Utilizing Seawater

Additionally, seawater could be used in numerous potential sites, eliminating the need for a second reservoir and practically negating water consumption. The expected lifespan of such plants ranges from 60 to 100 years.

Cost-wise, the expenses differ widely depending on the region and type of pumped storage plants, but it’s estimated to be around $1 billion per gigawatt of capacity. This is not significantly higher than the costs associated with current wind and solar power facilities.

There is one drawback: these facilities can’t generate electricity; they can only store it. However, they do this effectively, as energy can be kept for up to six months with an average efficiency of 80%.

The Need for Other Energy Sources

Thus, the electricity itself must come from alternative sources. The researchers primarily suggest wind and solar energy for this purpose. The slow expansion of these resources is linked to inconsistent production, insufficient government support, and the lack of storage solutions.

In conclusion, it appears that appropriate electricity storage systems can be established in nearly any location, especially on the right scale, even though they still need to be built. Nonetheless, there remains a significant amount of work to be done before this becomes a reality. Currently, only a few pumped storage power plants have a capacity of 1 gigawatt.

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