IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v13y2020i14p3512-d381638.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Underground Pumped-Storage Hydropower (UPSH) at the Martelange Mine (Belgium): Underground Reservoir Hydraulics

Author

Listed:
  • Vasileios Kitsikoudis

    (Hydraulics in Environmental and Civil Engineering, Urban and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Liege University, 4000 Liege, Belgium)

  • Pierre Archambeau

    (Hydraulics in Environmental and Civil Engineering, Urban and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Liege University, 4000 Liege, Belgium)

  • Benjamin Dewals

    (Hydraulics in Environmental and Civil Engineering, Urban and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Liege University, 4000 Liege, Belgium)

  • Estanislao Pujades

    (Department of Computational Hydrosystems, UFZ—Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany)

  • Philippe Orban

    (Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Urban and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Liege University, 4000 Liege, Belgium)

  • Alain Dassargues

    (Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Urban and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Liege University, 4000 Liege, Belgium)

  • Michel Pirotton

    (Hydraulics in Environmental and Civil Engineering, Urban and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Liege University, 4000 Liege, Belgium)

  • Sebastien Erpicum

    (Hydraulics in Environmental and Civil Engineering, Urban and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Liege University, 4000 Liege, Belgium)

Abstract

The intermittent nature of most renewable energy sources requires their coupling with an energy storage system, with pumped storage hydropower (PSH) being one popular option. However, PSH cannot always be constructed due to topographic, environmental, and societal constraints, among others. Underground pumped storage hydropower (UPSH) has recently gained popularity as a viable alternative and may utilize abandoned mines for the construction of the lower reservoir in the underground. Such underground mines may have complex geometries and the injection/pumping of large volumes of water with high discharge could lead to uneven water level distribution over the underground reservoir subparts. This can temporarily influence the head difference between the upper and lower reservoirs of the UPSH, thus affecting the efficiency of the plant or inducing structural stability problems. The present study considers an abandoned slate mine in Martelange in Southeast Belgium as the lower, underground, reservoir of an UPSH plant and analyzes its hydraulic behavior. The abandoned slate mine consists of nine large chambers with a total volume of about 550,000 m 3 , whereas the maximum pumping and turbining discharges are 22.2 m 3 /s. The chambers have different size and they are interconnected with small galleries with limited discharge capacity that may hinder the flow exchange between adjacent chambers. The objective of this study is to quantify the effect of the connecting galleries cross-section and the chambers adequate aeration on the water level variations in the underground reservoir, considering a possible operation scenario build upon current electricity prices and using an original hydraulic modelling approach. The results highlight the importance of adequate ventilation of the chambers in order to reach the same equilibrium water level across all communicating chambers. For fully aerated chambers, the connecting galleries should have a total cross-sectional area of at least 15 m 2 to allow water flow through them without significant restrictions and maintain similar water level at all times. Partially aerated chambers do not attain the same water level because of the entrapped air; however, the maximum water level differences between adjacent chambers remain relatively invariant when the total cross-sectional area of the connecting galleries is greater than 8 m 2 . The variation of hydraulic roughness of the connecting galleries affects the water exchange through small connecting galleries but is not very influential on water moving through galleries with large cross-sections.

Suggested Citation

  • Vasileios Kitsikoudis & Pierre Archambeau & Benjamin Dewals & Estanislao Pujades & Philippe Orban & Alain Dassargues & Michel Pirotton & Sebastien Erpicum, 2020. "Underground Pumped-Storage Hydropower (UPSH) at the Martelange Mine (Belgium): Underground Reservoir Hydraulics," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-16, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:14:p:3512-:d:381638
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/14/3512/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/14/3512/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Evans, Annette & Strezov, Vladimir & Evans, Tim J., 2012. "Assessment of utility energy storage options for increased renewable energy penetration," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 4141-4147.
    2. Zhang, Ning & Lu, Xi & McElroy, Michael B. & Nielsen, Chris P. & Chen, Xinyu & Deng, Yu & Kang, Chongqing, 2016. "Reducing curtailment of wind electricity in China by employing electric boilers for heat and pumped hydro for energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 987-994.
    3. Yang, Chi-Jen & Jackson, Robert B., 2011. "Opportunities and barriers to pumped-hydro energy storage in the United States," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 839-844, January.
    4. Steffen, Bjarne, 2012. "Prospects for pumped-hydro storage in Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 420-429.
    5. Javier Menéndez & Jesús M. Fernández-Oro & Mónica Galdo & Jorge Loredo, 2020. "Transient Simulation of Underground Pumped Storage Hydropower Plants Operating in Pumping Mode," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-17, April.
    6. Winde, Frank & Kaiser, Friederike & Erasmus, Ewald, 2017. "Exploring the use of deep level gold mines in South Africa for underground pumped hydroelectric energy storage schemes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 668-682.
    7. Stram, Bruce N., 2016. "Key challenges to expanding renewable energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 728-734.
    8. Menéndez, Javier & Fernández-Oro, Jesús M. & Galdo, Mónica & Loredo, Jorge, 2019. "Pumped-storage hydropower plants with underground reservoir: Influence of air pressure on the efficiency of the Francis turbine and energy production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 1427-1438.
    9. Ming, Zeng & Kun, Zhang & Daoxin, Liu, 2013. "Overall review of pumped-hydro energy storage in China: Status quo, operation mechanism and policy barriers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 35-43.
    10. Liqun Qi & Houyuan Jiang, 1997. "Semismooth Karush-Kuhn-Tucker Equations and Convergence Analysis of Newton and Quasi-Newton Methods for Solving these Equations," Mathematics of Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 22(2), pages 301-325, May.
    11. Wilson, Ian Allan Grant & McGregor, Peter G. & Hall, Peter J., 2010. "Energy storage in the UK electrical network: Estimation of the scale and review of technology options," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4099-4106, August.
    12. Barbour, Edward & Wilson, I.A. Grant & Radcliffe, Jonathan & Ding, Yulong & Li, Yongliang, 2016. "A review of pumped hydro energy storage development in significant international electricity markets," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 421-432.
    13. Menéndez, Javier & Loredo, Jorge & Galdo, Mónica & Fernández-Oro, Jesús M., 2019. "Energy storage in underground coal mines in NW Spain: Assessment of an underground lower water reservoir and preliminary energy balance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 1381-1391.
    14. Estanislao Pujades & Philippe Orban & Pierre Archambeau & Vasileios Kitsikoudis & Sebastien Erpicum & Alain Dassargues, 2020. "Underground Pumped-Storage Hydropower (UPSH) at the Martelange Mine (Belgium): Interactions with Groundwater Flow," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-21, May.
    15. Pujades, Estanislao & Orban, Philippe & Bodeux, Sarah & Archambeau, Pierre & Erpicum, Sébastien & Dassargues, Alain, 2017. "Underground pumped storage hydropower plants using open pit mines: How do groundwater exchanges influence the efficiency?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 135-146.
    16. Fan, Jinyang & Xie, Heping & Chen, Jie & Jiang, Deyi & Li, Cunbao & Ngaha Tiedeu, William & Ambre, Julien, 2020. "Preliminary feasibility analysis of a hybrid pumped-hydro energy storage system using abandoned coal mine goafs," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Qianjun Chen & Zhengmeng Hou & Xuning Wu & Shengyou Zhang & Wei Sun & Yanli Fang & Lin Wu & Liangchao Huang & Tian Zhang, 2023. "A Two-Step Site Selection Concept for Underground Pumped Hydroelectric Energy Storage and Potential Estimation of Coal Mines in Henan Province," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-21, June.
    2. Gao, Renbo & Wu, Fei & Zou, Quanle & Chen, Jie, 2022. "Optimal dispatching of wind-PV-mine pumped storage power station: A case study in Lingxin Coal Mine in Ningxia Province, China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    3. Xin Zhou & Yuejin Zhou & Xiaoding Xu & Chunlin Zeng & Chaobin Zhu, 2023. "Hydraulic Characteristics Analysis of Double-Bend Roadway of Abandoned Mine Pumped Storage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Zhixin Zhang & Qiang Guo & Wei Liu, 2022. "Evaluation of Long-Term Tightness of the Coal Pillar Dam of Underground Reservoir and Protection Countermeasures," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-20, October.
    5. Reinhard Madlener & Jan Martin Specht, 2020. "An Exploratory Economic Analysis of Underground Pumped-Storage Hydro Power Plants in Abandoned Deep Coal Mines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-22, October.
    6. Jarosław Kulpa & Paweł Kamiński & Kinga Stecuła & Dariusz Prostański & Piotr Matusiak & Daniel Kowol & Michał Kopacz & Piotr Olczak, 2021. "Technical and Economic Aspects of Electric Energy Storage in a Mine Shaft—Budryk Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-14, November.
    7. Xin Lyu & Tong Zhang & Liang Yuan & Ke Yang & Juejing Fang & Shanshan Li & Shuai Liu, 2022. "Pumped Storage Hydropower in Abandoned Mine Shafts: Key Concerns and Research Directions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-14, November.
    8. Estanislao Pujades & Philippe Orban & Pierre Archambeau & Vasileios Kitsikoudis & Sebastien Erpicum & Alain Dassargues, 2020. "Underground Pumped-Storage Hydropower (UPSH) at the Martelange Mine (Belgium): Interactions with Groundwater Flow," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-21, May.
    9. Małgorzata Jastrzębska, 2022. "Installation’s Conception in the Field of Renewable Energy Sources for the Needs of the Silesian Botanical Garden," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-28, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Menéndez, Javier & Ordóñez, Almudena & Álvarez, Rodrigo & Loredo, Jorge, 2019. "Energy from closed mines: Underground energy storage and geothermal applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 498-512.
    2. Estanislao Pujades & Philippe Orban & Pierre Archambeau & Vasileios Kitsikoudis & Sebastien Erpicum & Alain Dassargues, 2020. "Underground Pumped-Storage Hydropower (UPSH) at the Martelange Mine (Belgium): Interactions with Groundwater Flow," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-21, May.
    3. Candra Saigustia & Sylwester Robak, 2021. "Review of Potential Energy Storage in Abandoned Mines in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-16, October.
    4. Xin Zhou & Yuejin Zhou & Xiaoding Xu & Chunlin Zeng & Chaobin Zhu, 2023. "Hydraulic Characteristics Analysis of Double-Bend Roadway of Abandoned Mine Pumped Storage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-15, February.
    5. Binama, Maxime & Kan, Kan & Chen, Hui-Xiang & Zheng, Yuan & Zhou, Daqing & Su, Wen-Tao & Muhirwa, Alexis & Ntayomba, James, 2021. "Flow instability transferability characteristics within a reversible pump turbine (RPT) under large guide vane opening (GVO)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 285-307.
    6. Vasudevan, Krishnakumar R. & Ramachandaramurthy, Vigna K. & Venugopal, Gomathi & Ekanayake, J.B. & Tiong, S.K., 2021. "Variable speed pumped hydro storage: A review of converters, controls and energy management strategies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    7. Hunt, Julian David & Freitas, Marcos Aurélio Vasconcelos de & Pereira Junior, Amaro Olímpio, 2017. "A review of seasonal pumped-storage combined with dams in cascade in Brazil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 385-398.
    8. Guittet, Mélanie & Capezzali, Massimiliano & Gaudard, Ludovic & Romerio, Franco & Vuille, François & Avellan, François, 2016. "Study of the drivers and asset management of pumped-storage power plants historical and geographical perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 560-579.
    9. Barbour, Edward & Wilson, I.A. Grant & Radcliffe, Jonathan & Ding, Yulong & Li, Yongliang, 2016. "A review of pumped hydro energy storage development in significant international electricity markets," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 421-432.
    10. Winde, Frank & Kaiser, Friederike & Erasmus, Ewald, 2017. "Exploring the use of deep level gold mines in South Africa for underground pumped hydroelectric energy storage schemes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 668-682.
    11. Gao, Renbo & Wu, Fei & Zou, Quanle & Chen, Jie, 2022. "Optimal dispatching of wind-PV-mine pumped storage power station: A case study in Lingxin Coal Mine in Ningxia Province, China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    12. Zhixin Zhang & Qiang Guo & Wei Liu, 2022. "Evaluation of Long-Term Tightness of the Coal Pillar Dam of Underground Reservoir and Protection Countermeasures," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-20, October.
    13. Rehman, Shafiqur & Al-Hadhrami, Luai M. & Alam, Md. Mahbub, 2015. "Pumped hydro energy storage system: A technological review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 586-598.
    14. Olabi, A.G. & Onumaegbu, C. & Wilberforce, Tabbi & Ramadan, Mohamad & Abdelkareem, Mohammad Ali & Al – Alami, Abdul Hai, 2021. "Critical review of energy storage systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    15. Reinhard Madlener & Jan Martin Specht, 2020. "An Exploratory Economic Analysis of Underground Pumped-Storage Hydro Power Plants in Abandoned Deep Coal Mines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-22, October.
    16. McPherson, Madeleine & Johnson, Nils & Strubegger, Manfred, 2018. "The role of electricity storage and hydrogen technologies in enabling global low-carbon energy transitions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 649-661.
    17. Chazarra, Manuel & Pérez-Díaz, Juan I. & García-González, Javier & Praus, Roland, 2018. "Economic viability of pumped-storage power plants participating in the secondary regulation service," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 224-233.
    18. Mensah, Johnson Herlich Roslee & Santos, Ivan Felipe Silva dos & Raimundo, Danielle Rodrigues & Costa de Oliveira Botan, Maria Cláudia & Barros, Regina Mambeli & Tiago Filho, Geraldo Lucio, 2022. "Energy and economic study of using Pumped Hydropower Storage with renewable resources to recover the Furnas reservoir," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 320-334.
    19. Hermesmann, M. & Grübel, K. & Scherotzki, L. & Müller, T.E., 2021. "Promising pathways: The geographic and energetic potential of power-to-x technologies based on regeneratively obtained hydrogen," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    20. Morabito, Alessandro & Hendrick, Patrick, 2019. "Pump as turbine applied to micro energy storage and smart water grids: A case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C), pages 567-579.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:14:p:3512-:d:381638. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.