Energy Systems Research

Energy Systems, Sustainability, and Adaptive Control

During a 24 hour period, electricity costs may vary significantly due to the changing demand. Storage is often used in order to level electricity costs over the course of a day. When electricity is cheap, energy is stored, and when electricity costs are high, then the stored energy is utilized, thereby leveling the effective electricity costs. Pump storage hydro (PSH) is by far, the most commonly used method of storing electricity. The EPA indicates that 94% of the electricity storage in the U.S. utilizes PSH.

Worldwide, most of the pump storage hydro (PSH) projects to date have been utility scale, typically greater than 200 MW, and customized to site-specific project conditions. During the last few decades PSH development has been stagnant, largely as a result of the high costs of civil works construction and environmental obstacles.

Experience has shown that ten or more years have been required from project inception to commissioning, which has proven to be unacceptable to investors in PSH projects. The proposed technology focuses on modular, closed-loop, scalable pump storage hydro (mcs-PSH) systems with an approximate power capacity range of 1 to 10 MW and operating in closed loop mode. In closed-loop mode, both reservoirs are isolated from natural bodies of water. The problems being addressed are reducing the costs for materials and construction, improving the ease of installation, and expediting the project development timeline. A secondary objective of this work is to facilitate standardization of components, to the extent possible, so that replication of similar mcs-PSH systems does not require a complete redesign.

How Students Benefit

Students will take responsibility for equipment setup, experiment design, data collection, and subsequent data processing.

This work will help students develop an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.

These are valuable skills for students to acquire for their careers in industry or for graduate studies.

Dr. Thomas Eldredge
B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
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Dr. Hector Medina
B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
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Impact on Society

Energy storage is of great importance for our society. The incorporation of renewable energy solutions to pump storage hydro systems is of especial importance to the sustainability of our environment. Project energizer has the potential to create new technologies that could benefit our industry as well as provide our students with a real-world application that can impact positively our society.

In the News: Energy Research

• Mechanical engineering professors awarded for developing new hydropower technology 
• Innovators’ Concepts Seek to Accelerate Commissioning Times for Pumped-Storage Hydropower

Articles

• Hadjerioua, B., Eldredge, T., Medina, H., & DeNeale, S. (2019). Hydrodynamic and Structural Response Modeling of a Prototype Floating Membrane Reservoir System for Pumped Storage Hydropower. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 145(9), 04019032.
• Hadjerioua, B., Eldredge, T., Medina, H., & DeNeale, S. (2019, May). Design and Modeling of a Prototype Floating Membrane Reservoir System Application for Pumped Storage Hydropower. In World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2019: Emerging and Innovative Technologies and International Perspectives (pp. 63-73). Reston, VA: American Society of Civil Engineers.