NHA report claims more storage, flexibility needed to support resilience of cleaner grid

The National Hydropower Association (NHA) released its 2021 Pumped Storage Report this week, which showed that pumped storage now provides 94 percent of bulk energy storage capacity in the United States, but will need more to meet the growing influx of wind and solar generation.

More storage, more operational flexibility — these, the report said, are the key to maintaining grid resilience with cleaner energy. Such variable renewable sources, paired with retiring fossil fueled dispatchable capacity, opens the need for long-duration energy storage. The NHA pitched pumped hydropower storage as the natural choice, given its ability to use a turbine and generator to form a water battery, pumping water to reservoirs and storing it for later use.

This ability to inject power into the grid or absorb it as needed can be critical both for grid stability and reliability.

“The acceleration of wind and solar deployments underscores the increasing need to integrate large amounts of variable resources,” Cameron Schilling, NHA’s vice president of Market Strategies and Regulatory Affairs, said. “This report shines a spotlight on the value of pumped storage, while providing a path forward for solving the market, policy and regulatory hurdles that hinders its growth. In addition to financing, for pumped storage to fully realize its growth potential, it requires market policies that appropriately value its grid services.”

Currently, the U.S. hosts 43 pumped storage hydropower projects, providing more than 22,800 MW of storage capacity. Another 67 projects, offering more than 50 GWs of storage, are currently in development. However, the report noted that roadblocks remain to development: regulatory issues, electricity market structures undervaluing pumped storage grid contributions, and existing state and federal policies.