In 2023, China ranked first in the world in terms of pumped storage hydropower capacity, with more than 50.9 gigawatts. Japan and the United States followed second and third respectively.
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There are two main types of pumped hydro: Open-loop: with either an upper or lower reservoir that is continuously connected to a naturally flowing water source such as a river. Closed-loop:
The Schluchseewerk complex in Baden-Wurttemberg, which consists of five pumped-storage plants, has a total capacity of about 1,800 MW. The country is now focusing on pumped-storage plant development in the
A chart showing the global amount of megawatts produced, since the 1920s, using hydropower by traditional and pumped storage facilities as well as others. The chart shows a significant increase...
There are 43 PSH projects in the U.S.1 providing 22,878 megawatts (MW) of storage capacity2. Individual unit capacities at these projects range from 4.2 to 462 MW. Globally, there are
This is about 170 times more energy than the global fleet of pumped storage hydropower plants can hold today – and almost 2 200 times more than all battery capacity, including electric vehicles. Pumped storage hydropower plants will remain a key source of electricity storage capacity alongside batteries.
PSH provides 94% of the U.S.’s energy storage capacity and batteries and other technologies make-up the remaining 6%.(3) The 2016 DOE Hydropower Vision Report estimates a potential addition of 16.2 GW of pumped storage hydro by 2030 and another 19.3 GW by 2050, for a total installed base of 57.1 GW of domestic pumped storage.
In 2022, global pumped storage hydropower capacity surpassed 135 gigawatts, with China, Japan, and the United States combined accounting for almost one third of this value. Continuously declining prices should cause energy storage systems to gain considerable market share in the next 30 years.
China now leads the world in wind, solar and hydroelectric power capacity. “For China, pumped storage is the winning horse to provide a flexible backup for wind and solar. It is cheaper than the other battery options and can store more energy,” said Liu Hongqiao, an independent energy consultant focused on renewables in China.
In that latter year, China had the largest pumped hydro storage capacity, at more than 45 gigawatts. Loading statistic... Get notified via email when this statistic is updated.
There are 43 PSH projects in the U.S.1 providing 22,878 megawatts (MW) of storage capacity2. Individual unit capacities at these projects range from 4.2 to 462 MW. Globally, there are approximately 270 pumped storage plants, representing a combined generating capacity of 161,000 (MW)3.
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