Analysis of pumped hydroelectric energy storage for large-scale wind energy integration

Abstract

Renewable energy sources are becoming a popular choice of energy, due to their sundry advantages and more convenient environmental impacts. Wind certainly emerges as one of the most plausible energy sources in modern power generation. However, large-scale wind energy is associated with fluctuations in voltage and power due to its intermittent nature. The proposed pumped hydroelectric energy storage system offers one of the best solutions in solving this problem. It is shown that large-scale integration of wind energy becomes more feasible and efficient when a proper energy storage system is added to achieve appropriate energy charging or discharging. Upon comparing the potential of different storage systems, pumped hydroelectric energy storage is found to be highly promising for wind integration. In order to demonstrate the behavior of the integrated system with respect to time constant and to verify the feasibility of the energy storage in different case studies, simulations are performed in Matlab/Simulink. This work would open new doors toward the investigation of large-scale wind power integration. It is also expected that pumped hydroelectric energy storage would become a possible alternative for energy reserves for large-scale wind power applications.