The value of pumped hydro storage in a decarbonized world

Countries around the world have pledged to decarbonize their electricity sector in order to address climate change. In this thesis we investigate the role of pumped hydro storage (PHS) in decarbonizing power generation in combination with a high penetration of low-carbon energy sources. PHS is the oldest storage technology and constitutes of 95 percent of storage capacity worldwide. We provide a technical and historical overview of PHS while noting assumptions about locational availability and environmental concerns that have progressed over the last several decades. This thesis uses a high PHS capacity country, Spain, as its case study First, this thesis establishes how PHS operates in a competitive wholesale market, confirming its use of daily arbitrage. Secondly, it shows the degree to which PHS effects the operation of other technology like nuclear, wind, and solar PV and its impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Data, Systems, and Society

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Oyler, Anthony Fratto.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• John Parsons.

• Institute for Data, Systems, and Society.
• Technology and Policy Program.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/122185

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/122185