Pumped storage — An answer to peaking power

Abstract

In the North Atlantic States alone, plants of almost 10 000 MW of pumped-storage capacity are either projected or under construction. The advantages of this power reserve concept are becoming ever more apparent to public utilities Electric power demand in the United States is increasing on the order of a geometric progression — doubling every decade. To meet this tremendous increase, numerous solutions for power production have been proposed such as power pools, larger and larger generators, and various hydro and nuclear schemes. Although the huge generators are very efficient, they are best adapted for high load factors and, therefore, the urgent problem of meeting peaking capacity has become extremely serious. Many investor-owned utilities have installed diesel, gas turbine, and stripped-down steam units to meet peaking demands, but these stop-gap measures operate at reduced efficiency and are costly to acquire and maintain.