This paper presents a technical review of the existing pumped storage plants in Norway. The power system is changing towards integrating more and more renewable energy, especially from variable renewable energy sources, leading to new challenges for the security of supply, power, frequency, and voltage regulation. Thus, energy storage options are a highly researched topic in the current situation. Even though there are many energy storage technologies, most are optimal for short term grid balancing, and few are capable of providing long term (weekly or seasonal) storage. One exception is pumped storage, a mature technology capable of delivering both short term and long term energy storage. In this paper, the ten existing pumped storage plants in Norway are presented, several of which are capable of seasonal energy storage. The Norwegian knowledge and experience with pumped storage plants technology is provided as a basis for future research within the field. The review provides information about energy production and storage capabilities, construction costs, specific costs per kW and stored kWh, electromechanical installation, technical specifications, and operational experience with focus on the design of the tunnel system layout. The data presented in this review are unique and previously unpublished. A discussion and conclusions regarding the current situation, trends, and future outlook for pumped storage plants in Norway within the European power market are provided.
The present paper studies the behavior of the new proposed cooling water pumps for a 106 MW Hydro-Power Plant using EPANET. This case-study Hydropower Plant, located in the south of Romania and equipped with two Francis units 53 MW each, processing a 269m gross head, presently goes through a rehabilitation process. The cooling water system of this Hydro-Power Plant consists in four centrifugal pumps, two for each unit, and two additional pumps for the 130 MVA step-up transformer. The rehabilitation process involves the replacement of these pumps. A numerical model following the exact configuration of the cooling water system in what regards pipes diameters, lengths and roughness was designed in EPANET. The focus is to verify if the required pressure is ensured at the cooling water consumers of the plant considering their specific flow demand and if the velocity in the system pipes is within the acceptable limits during the power production process.
As power systems include more intermittent renewable energy sources, energy storage solutions are needed to support them. Pumped hydro is a reliable alternative for long-term energy storage. A solution for bringing more pumped hydro into the power system is to upgrade existing hydropower plants into pumped hydro. To investigate this possibility, a case study with a complex tunnel system and multiple surge tanks along both the headrace and the tailrace tunnels is selected. A hydraulic scale model and validation methods were developed. The challenges in developing and validating complex models involving multiple surge tanks, throttles, head loss, and limited prototype information are detailed.
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