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How is hydropower stored?

Whether we're talking about nuclear power, hydroelectric plants, wind turbines or solar panels, the conclusion has always been the same: mankind knows how to produce electricity, there's no doubt about it. But the challenge we still face today is a major one. Storing all that energy. Some solutions already exist, but none has yet proved its worth. Of the various techniques used, hydropower remains the most cost-effective, and we're going to find out why.

How is hydropower stored? Let's find out together in this article.

THE SPECIFICS OF HYDROPOWER GENERATION

Although constantly improved, the principle of hydropower has remained the same since its creation. Simply put, dams hold back large quantities of water in artificial lakes. These dams are equipped with turbines that are activated when the water held in the artificial lake is released into the river. This will generate a force that will then be transformed into electricity and fed into the power grid. The force generated by the release of water depends either on the height of the waterfall or on the flow rate of the watercourse on which the dam is installed. There are currently more than 2,000 such power plants in France. This makes hydropower the leading source of renewable energy in our country.

How can all this energy be stored?

We have long been looking for solutions to this thorny problem, which continues to mobilise research. Energy is often produced in large quantities, and much of it is lost to nature and not used. This energy production has a cost, so we can talk about losses. Some countries, like ours, have chosen to sell their surplus to their neighbours. But the ideal would still be to be able to store it at home and use it when we need it. This would make it possible to limit production and be content to produce only what we need. What's more, it would also allow us to build up reserves in case of hard times.

A technique for storing hydraulic energy has existed since the 1970s. These are called Step technologies: pumped storage stations. How does it work? These stations consist of two basins, each located at a different altitude and connected by pipes. A hydraulic power station equipped with turbines and pumps enables water to be discharged from one basin to the other according to energy requirements. Energy is produced in two stages:

  • When the demand for electricity is lower, the power station pump moves the water from the lower basin to the upper basin.
  • Conversely, when demand is high, the water from the upper basin is discharged into the lower basin, driving the turbines and producing a large amount of energy.

This system is currently one of the most efficient, although there is still room for improvement. Without being able to store electricity in the right form, the aim is to be able to moderate and regulate energy production according to electricity needs. Be that as it may, this technique has proved its worth and still has a bright future ahead of it.

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