Environmental Remediation Costs
- High Initial Remediation Costs: Generally, PHES projects involve significant upfront environmental remediation costs. These costs are associated with initial planning and construction stages, including studies, excavation, and facility components. The alteration of landscapes and ecosystems can require extensive mitigation measures.
- Open-Loop vs. Closed-Loop Systems: Open-loop PHES projects, continuously connected to natural water bodies, tend to have higher environmental impacts compared to closed-loop systems, which are not connected to natural water flows. Closed-loop systems, which are often proposed for new projects, typically have lower environmental impacts and potentially reduced environmental costs.
- Mitigation Measures: Environmental mitigation measures often focus on geologic, terrestrial, and aquatic resources. These can include efforts to protect species, restore habitats, and manage water quality, all of which contribute to the overall cost of implementing a PHES facility.
- Trends and Future Directions: There is a trend towards reducing environmental remediation costs through the use of existing infrastructure (e.g., using one new off-river reservoir with an existing reservoir) and by adopting more modular and standardized designs. This can help lower the financial burden associated with environmental remediation.
Overall, while PHES offers significant benefits in terms of energy storage and renewable integration, it also comes with considerable environmental remediation costs that need to be carefully managed and mitigated during project planning and execution.
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/what-are-the-environmental-remediation-costs-associated-with-pumped-hydroelectric-energy-storage/
