Europe has 2,291 GWh of development-ready sites for pumped hydro storage - study

A new study has identified a whopping 2,291 GWh of development-ready sites with existing reservoirs for new pumped hydro energy storage plants, with Norway accounting for more than half of the total.

The study in fact covers the EU-15, Norway and Switzerland. It was unveiled today by the eStorage Project, a European Commission-funded consortium.

A total of 54%, or 1,242 GWh of the feasible potential identified is in southern Norway, 303 GWh in the Alps and 118 GWh in the Pyrenees in France and Spain.

eStorage has been tasked by the European Commission to develop cost-effective solutions for GWh-scale energy storage across the EU to aid renewables integration.

Pumped hydro energy storage plants are the only mature cost-effective and flexible means for GWh capacity storage of electricity, it says. The technology works on the principle of transferring water between two reservoirs at different elevations.

The study was conducted by consortium partner DNV GL and focused on existing water body pairs.

The 2,291 GWh identified is more than seven times Europe's current installed capacity of pumped hydro energy storage, according to the announcement. eStorage calculates that 95 million lithium-ion batteries of those used in most electric cars will be needed to provide the same energy storage.

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