Market Challenges for Pumped Storage Hydropower Plants

For power system development planning, a thorough valuation of each of its components is carried out with an objective to improve the system reliability and economy. This paper deals with energy storage technologies with particular emphasis placed on the pumped storage hydropower plants (PSHs). For the long-term development planning of a system with different generating facilities, PSHs still play the major role in the implementation of intermittent renewable energy sources into a future generation mix. For planning of a generation mix with PSHs we use the concept of “Levelized Cost of Electricity” (LCoE) to compare the economic indicators of a system in order to make a fair and unbiased selection of new plants intended to cover customer demands. Being based on the monetary indicators, the LCoE concept is able to help in making investment decisions in view of technology and size of any new generating sources proposed for a defined time horizon. Owing to their excellent operational flexibility PSHs may also be good players on the electricity markets, offering both, capacity and energy services