Pump Up the Hydropower Volume

By Thomas Timlen

The global energy transition needs adequate storage to cope with the variability of renewable energy sources. The answer, as we discover in this feature story from Issue 4 of Breakbulk Magazine, could be pumped storage hydropower. Our reporter Thomas Timlen checks out developments in Asia and the exciting opportunities emerging for breakbulk professionals.

China is expecting to add 315 pumped storage hydropower, or PSH, projects by 2031, making it far and away the top PSH developer in the world.

Much attention is given to expansion plans surrounding energy projects of every kind, as these serve well as drivers for demand for project cargo transportation services. Developments for sustainable energy programs with power generated by wind and solar farms or traditional hydro energy facilities are familiar to project cargo stakeholders. Yet PSH has received comparatively less attention.

First, what is PSH? Pascal Radue, president and CEO of GE Hydro Solutions, describes PSH as “the largest source of energy storage that exists today, which can help stabilize the grid with the integration of wind and solar power.” In practical terms, PSH consists of pumped storage units that help to stabilize the grid by acting as giant batteries. Water is pumped from the lower to the upper reservoir in times of surplus energy and, in times of demand, water from the upper reservoir is released, generating electricity as it passes through a turbine.

Energy to power the pumps can be provided by any source on the grid that is operating during off-peak periods, whether conventional or sustainable (wind, solar or hydro), which improves efficiency of the respective units by leveraging over-capacity power generation while setting the stage to exploit the more sustainable hydro units when energy demand requires their contribution to the grid.

PSH does, however, have some drawbacks. These facilities can only be built where specific geographic conditions exist, allowing for two large bodies of water at different elevations to be created, connected, and maintained. Projects, especially greenfield developments, can face opposition, as with conventional hydropower.

Additionally, PSH requires regulatory ecosystems and market structures that accommodate and incentivize energy storage systems. Looking at China’s management of significant infrastructure initiatives, history has shown that these are planned and launched at a faster pace compared with similar initiatives in Europe and North America.


China to Drive Buildout

Researchers at the Global Energy Monitor, or GEM, have determined that a massive, planned buildout of pumped storage hydropower in Eastern Asia, driven by China, would allow the region to single-handedly meet the International Renewable Energy Agency’s, or IRENA, target of 420 gigawatts, or GW, of pumped storage worldwide by 2050.

IRENA is an intergovernmental organization that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future, and serves as the principal platform for international cooperation, a center of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy. IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind energy in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity.

Adnan Z. Amin, IRENA’s director general, said that the global energy system requires rapid, immediate and sustained change. “The deployment of renewables must increase at least sixfold compared to the levels set out in current plans. The share of electricity in total energy use must double, with substantial electrification of transport and heat. Renewables would then make up two-thirds of energy consumption and 85 percent of power generation. Together with energy efficiency, this could deliver over 90 percent of the climate mitigation needed to maintain a 2°C limit.”

GEM’s new Global Hydropower Tracker catalogues 2,212 GW of hydropower globally with nearly 4,000 pumped storage, conventional and run-of-river hydropower projects of at least 75 megawatts, or MW, or larger. Analysis of almost 4,000 projects in 134 countries revealed that the Eastern Asia region has a total of 425 GW of pumped storage capacity operating and prospective, announced, in pre-construction, or in construction, which represents 73 percent of the global total.

Pumped storage is a crucial component of the global energy transition, as the worldwide growth in variable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar increases the need for energy storage solutions. Modelling by IRENA suggests that 420 GW of total installed pumped storage hydropower will be needed to allow the world to meet the Paris Agreement’s climate goals by 2050.


Promise of Pumped Hydro

Of all operating hydropower projects with at least 75 MW of nameplate capacity, only 14 percent (161 GW) is accounted for by pumped storage, while the other 86 percent (967 GW) is conventional storage or run-of-river. But pumped storage makes up 49 percent (439 GW) of prospective capacity, indicating the rising importance of this technology type in the coming years relative to other types of hydropower.

GEM’s tracker has identified the top five countries with the most operating pumped storage hydropower as China (30 percent of the global total), Japan (14 percent of the global total), U.S. (13 percent of the global total), Italy (5 percent of the global total) and Germany (4 percent of the global total), while China leads the world with 82 percent of the prospective pumped storage hydropower.

“Pumped storage capacity is set to grow much faster than conventional dams worldwide, and China is the clearest example of this trend. Pumped storage and hydropower are an integral part of the global energy transition, and the rest of the world should take note of the buildout in Eastern Asia,” said Joe Bernardi, project manager for the Global Hydropower Tracker.

How will this translate into opportunities for the project cargo sector? “Much of the PSH capacity in China is in the announced or preconstruction stages in our Tracker, both of which come before the physical construction stage,” Bernardi told Breakbulk.

“In the coming years, as prospective facilities move toward actualization, we would expect to see a significant increase in the transportation of facility components and construction equipment to the corresponding prospective PSH sites.”

While China has well-established and well-known hydro facilities such as the Gorges Dam Hydro Electric Power Plant, not all new PSH projects will be situated at these sites. Cheng Cheng Wu, project manager for GEM’s Global Energy Transition Tracker told Breakbulk: “GEM’s Global Hydropower Tracker shows that many provinces which do not currently have any operational PSH facilities above 75 MW nonetheless have plans to greatly build out PSH capacity in the future. As a result, these provinces may not yet have as much experience with the construction logistics and supply chain processes needed for the significant planned expansion.”

This lack of experience and know-how can serve well to create opportunities for logistics companies that are prepared to support the related movements of components and equipment to the new PSH sites, which could also involve participation in the development of infrastructure required to transport these items.


Local Moves to Increase

Providing a view from China, Protranser International Logistics Marketing Manager Leo Liu pointed out that a significant quantity of components destined for domestic hydro power facilities are manufactured locally, with the movements from manufacturing plant to project site arranged by the component producers. In addition, there is some activity involving the export of hydro power facility components.

Recent activity involving GE illustrates Liu’s observations. Under a contract signed in 2017, GE Hydro Solutions was selected by Anhui Jinzhai Pumped Storage Power Co., Ltd, one of the divisions of State Grid Xin Yuan, to supply four new 300 MW pumped storage turbines, generator-motors and the balance of plant equipment for the Anhui Jinzhai pumped storage power plant located in the Jinzhai County, Anhui Province, China. The first two units were connected to the grid in October 2022.

In line with the planned schedule, all units of the Jinzhai pumped storage power plant have now been successfully connected to the grid and have completed 15 days of trial operation. All units are now under commercial operation.

Addressing findings by GEM’s tracker and IRENA’s goals, GE states that the 1.2 GW Jinzhai hydro power plant project will play a key role in fostering a stronger energy mix in China. The project’s annual generating capacity represents about 1.4 times the annual household electricity consumption in Jinzhai.

Acting as a sustainable giant energy storage system, the Jinzhai pumped storage station will save up to 120,000 tons of coal and cut 240,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

“The Jinzhai pumped storage project, now fully operational, will provide for a huge amount of clean energy to China and will help stabilize the grid to ultimately help integrate more renewable energies in a reliable way,” Radue said. “And the beauty of hydropower projects is that they are set to be operational for the very long term, about 80 years, meaning that the project will provide affordable energy for several generations to come.”

Will China continue to grow its PSH capacity? Analysts at GEM seem to think so. Their analysis points out that China is the top-ranked country in terms of operating PSH capacity with 50.7 GW, holding 30 percent of the world’s total. This is roughly equivalent to the combined PSH capacity of all European countries. China’s current share of global prospective capacity exceeds 80 percent, making it the primary country for the development of the pumped storage industry.

On the road towards achieving China’s prospective capacity, a substantial quantity of hydro components and equipment will need to be moved, boding well for project cargo transporters able to operate in the region.
 

TOP PHOTO: Aerial view of Jinzhai Hydro Plant, China. CREDIT: GE Renewable Energy