Roadmap to Profitability for a Speed-Controlled Micro-Hydro Storage System Using Pumps as Turbines

Florian Julian Lugauer, Josef Kainz, Elena Gehlich and Matthias Gaderer
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Florian Julian Lugauer: Energy Technology Department, Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, 85354 Freising, Germany
Josef Kainz: Energy Technology Department, Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, 85354 Freising, Germany
Elena Gehlich: Campus Straubing for Biotechnology and Sustainability, Technical University of Munich, 94315 Straubing, Germany
Matthias Gaderer: Campus Straubing for Biotechnology and Sustainability, Technical University of Munich, 94315 Straubing, Germany

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-22

Abstract: Storage technologies are an emerging element in the further expansion of renewable energy generation. A decentralized micro-pumped storage power plant can reduce the load on the grid and contribute to the expansion of renewable energies. This paper establishes favorable boundary conditions for the economic operation of a micro-pump storage (MPS) system. The evaluation is performed by means of a custom-built simulation model based on pump and turbine maps which are either given by the manufacturer, calculated according to rules established in studies, or extended using similarity laws. Among other criteria, the technical and economic characteristics regarding micro-pump storage using 11 pumps as turbines controlled by a frequency converter for various generation and load scenarios are evaluated. The economical concept is based on a small company (e.g., a dairy farmer) reducing its electricity consumption from the grid by storing the electricity generated by a photovoltaic system in an MPS using a pump as a turbine. The results show that due to the high specific costs incurred, systems with a nominal output in excess of around 22 kW and with heads beyond approximately 70 m are the most profitable. In the most economical case, a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of 29.2 €cents/kWh and total storage efficiency of 42.0% is achieved by optimizing the system for the highest profitability.

Keywords: pump as turbine; micro-hydro pump storage; small-scale hydropower; simulation model; turbine maps (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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