Pumped Hydroelectric Storage
Calling the engineers in the audience - I just ran through some calculations on the feasibility of water pumping storage at Factor e Farm, our facility. The numbers look really good on paper. The drawing shows two quarter acre ponds - the contour lines are at 1 foot elevation intervals, so 30 foot drop between the ponds. The calculation yields 24kWhr of energy storage from this using proven microhydro technology - where the elevated pond serves as a reserve that can be pumped during daylight for gravity water storage. This is an open call for review of the calculations, see below.
Explanation:
Can we consider a storage hydro system that pumps during the day and generates electricity by night? Quick calculations: 1/4 acre pond, 6 foot deep. That is about 2000 cubic meters of water. Take another pond 10 m lower. The energy of water going from pond 1 to pond 2 (see drawing attached) is MgH = energy = [2000 cu m]x[1000kg/cu m]x[10 m/s^2]x[10 m] = 200 MJ 200 MJ = 200 MW for 1 second, or 200 kW for 1000 seconds, or 2 kW for 100,000 seconds - but assume 50% system efficiency (85% pumping, 85% generating, then 20% friction loss)
THAT IS over 24 HOURS OF 1KW OF POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cost will be $1.5k in 4" pipe (about 1000 ft), $1k in power equipment, $10k in excavation + trenching for 2 ponds. If we have our own dozer, that will be $3k system cost. $3k for 24kWhr of power storage appears to beat batteries by a factor of 5-10 in cost. Sure looks good on paper. Are these numbers sound?
If this works, we will consider this project for a future workshop in permaculture and open source technology, like the ones we're running now (http://bit.ly/1lHE2fw). If anyone can help us develop this project, please let me know.
References
- Pumped Hydroelectric Storage, Chi-Jen Yang - File:Phs.pdf
Turbine Sources
- Pelton - [1]
- Platypus Power - [2]
- Survey - http://www.zero.no/publikasjoner/small-scale-water-current-turbines-for-river-applications.pdf
Contacts
Contacted Regrarians, Permies, TED Fellows on Facebook.
Hi Permies, I've been bouncing this pumped hydroelectric storage idea, which we are considering for a future workshop. This appears feasible at our site, with 30 feet of head, using two quarter acre ponds. I'm contacting http://www.canyonhydro.com/micro/microfaq.html#FAQ_HowMuchPwr to find out more about Pelton turbines - any ideas on other reputable Pelton turbine sources?
Calling the engineers in the audience - I just ran through some calculations on the feasibility of water pumping storage at Factor e Farm, our facility. The numbers look really good on paper. The drawing shows two quarter acre ponds - the contour lines are at 1 foot elevation intervals, so 30 foot drop between the ponds. The calculation yields 24kWhr of energy storage from this using proven microhydro technology - where the elevated pond serves as a reserve that can be pumped during daylight for gravity water storage. This is an open call for review of the calculations, see below. Explanation: Can we consider a storage hydro system that pumps during the day and generates electricity by night? Quick calculations: 1/4 acre pond, 6 foot deep. That is about 2000 cubic meters of water. Take another pond 10 m lower. The energy of water going from pond 1 to pond 2 (see drawing attached) is MgH = energy = [2000 cu m]x[1000kg/cu m]x[10 m/s^2]x[10 m] = 200 MJ 200 MJ = 200 MW for 1 second, or 200 kW for 1000 seconds, or 2 kW for 100,000 seconds - but assume 50% system efficiency (85% pumping, 85% generating, then 20% friction loss) THAT IS over 24 HOURS OF 1KW OF POWER!!!!!!!!!!!! Cost will be $1.5k in 4" pipe (about 1000 ft), $1k in power equipment, $10k in excavation + trenching for 2 ponds. If we have our own dozer, that will be $3k system cost. $3k for 24kWhr of power storage appears to beat batteries by a factor of 5-10 in cost. Sure looks good on paper. Are these numbers sound? If this works, we will consider this project for a future workshop in permaculture and open source technology, like the ones we're running now (http://bit.ly/1lHE2fw). If anyone can help us develop this project, please let me know.