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The boosterpump concept for reconstruction of hydropower plants to pumped storage plants

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  • Vereide, Kaspar
  • Pitorac, Livia
  • Zeringue, Rachel
  • Kollandsrud, Arne

Abstract

The need for electric energy storage in the ongoing energy transition with large-scale construction of renewable energy leads to increasing interest for upgrading existing hydropower plants to pumped storage plants. Such upgrading is possible by using existing dams and waterways, and only upgrade the electromechanical equipment. However, this alternative has several technical limitations that must be overcome. The boosterpump concept is a possible solution to overcome these technical limitations. This paper presents the concept and a demonstration on two case-study hydropower plants. A novel electro-mechanical layout and hydraulic design has been developed. The layout, operation, physical dimensions, performance, costs and market analyses are presented. The costs are compared to constructing a new reversible unit in parallel with reuse of the existing dams and waterways. The boosterpump concept is found technically feasible for both Roskrepp HPP and Vinje HPP, and the technology is currently considered to be at TRL 4–5. The cost calculations show that reconstructing with a boosterpump costs 25–35 % less than installing a new reversible unit constructed in parallel. The reconstruction is only found economically feasible for the Roskrepp HPP under the given assumptions and market expectations for these two projects.

Suggested Citation

  • Vereide, Kaspar & Pitorac, Livia & Zeringue, Rachel & Kollandsrud, Arne, 2024. "The boosterpump concept for reconstruction of hydropower plants to pumped storage plants," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:229:y:2024:i:c:s0960148124007663
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2024.120698
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Li, Peiquan & Zhao, Ziwen & Li, Jianling & Liu, Zhengguang & Liu, Yong & Mahmud, Md Apel & Sun, Yong & Chen, Diyi, 2023. "Unlocking potential contribution of seasonal pumped storage to ensure the flexibility of power systems with high proportion of renewable energy sources," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    2. Wolfgang, Ove & Haugstad, Arne & Mo, Birger & Gjelsvik, Anders & Wangensteen, Ivar & Doorman, Gerard, 2009. "Hydro reservoir handling in Norway before and after deregulation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 1642-1651.
    3. Livia Pitorac & Kaspar Vereide & Leif Lia, 2020. "Technical Review of Existing Norwegian Pumped Storage Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-20, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. He, Xinxiang & Zhang, Jun & Qin, Shijie & Wu, Peng & Wu, Dazhuan, 2025. "Energy loss dynamic decomposition analysis under different working conditions in centrifugal pump," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    2. Tesfay, Asfafaw Haileselassie & Lia, Leif & Vereide, Kaspar, 2025. "Composite surge tanks to boost hydropower flexibility," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    3. Chen, Wei & Qin, Chengliang & Ma, Zhe & Li, Jian & Zhang, Tong & Wang, Yazhou & Zhang, Xuelin & Xue, Xiaodai, 2024. "Dynamic simulation and optimal design of a combined cold and power system with 10 MW compressed air energy storage and integrated refrigeration," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    4. Tan, Qiaofeng & Qiao, Liang & Wen, Xin & Wang, Zhenni, 2025. "Short-term scheduling of a hybrid pumped storage-photovoltaic power complementary system considering market-oriented electricity prices," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).

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