Prefeasibility analysis of the Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS) system in Türkiye: A case study on a hybrid system

Abstract

Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS) power plants aim to exploit the price difference between storing and generating electricity. These power plants operate by pumping water from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir, consuming energy, and generating electricity by transferring water from the upper reservoir to the lower reservoir. There is no pumped storage power plant in Turkey yet, and it is in the planning stage. This study aims to provide a preliminary feasibility analysis of this investment from an economic and technical point of view and to contribute to this issue through the recently announced feed-in tariff for PHS. The planned PHS at Gökçekaya Dam was considered a proposal in this study and was carried out using a developed algorithm. The algorithm determines the optimal installed capacity of hybrid energy. This feasibility analysis is based on two scenarios. The difference between the first and second scenarios is due to the investment cost of the PHS system. Additionally, the second scenario considers an integrated hybrid Solar Hydroelectric (SHE) system. Each scenario is evaluated in terms of base price, average price, maximum feed-in price, and market peak price. The result of the study is that only the market price represents a remarkable payback period for pumped storage power plants. As a result of the study, it was found that it’s possible to support the pumped storage power plant with a hybrid solar power system and market price if only the storage volume is increased. The feed-in tariff should be set to cover the demand. In the first scenario, only the PHS was evaluated, and after completing the economic analysis, the investment has a payback period of 28.39 years for the market peak price. If the PHS facility is supported by a hybrid solar energy system for internal energy needs, the payback periods can be reduced. In the first scenario, the investment has a payback period of 18.05 years, supported by integrated hybrid solar energy. In the second scenario, the PHS investment has a payback period of 9.63 years for the highest price on the market. The investment has a payback period of 8.66 years, which is supported by the integrated hybrid solar energy. Due to the high self-consumption of energy, integrated hybrid solar energy is suitable for the PHS projects.