to overcome access difficulties such as the logistics of working on the River Severn which is known to flood quite quickly. The fish pass works, which were part of one of the largest river restora - tion projects of its kind in Europe, will enable the rare migratory fish, the Shad, to travel to their natural spawning grounds for the first time in nearly 180 years, whilst benefiting salmon, eels, and lamprey. Land & Water is committed towards delivering, maintaining and sustaining the UK’s natural capital, improving the ecosystem of our waterways for years to come whilst restoring structures to provide that additional futureproofing. Since 2020, the firm has been carrying out works at Blenheim Palace as part of a wider restoration project at the World Heritage Site. Its first phase of engineering included the recovery of the Grand Cascade Apron, which controls the lakes at Blenheim and are fed from the River
Glyme, including the apron, weir wall and foundations, alongside the main head bank wave wall. A resin injection cut off wall, the largest undertaken in the UK to date, was then installed, running the full width of the apron, to seal against any future water ingress issues. With the landscapes of Blenheim representing the prestigious work of Capability Brown, Land & Water is prioritising the conservation of the site’s history and craftsmanship from over 300 years ago. Kevin Kirkland, Managing Director at Land & Water says: “Land & Water has proudly positioned itself as a leading dredging, wet civils and environmental contractor over the past few years and has an exten - sive repertoire of working on complex structural projects under its belt. “As we continue to innovate and collaborate, strengthening our posi- tion within the construction sector, we are committed towards growing and thriving as a responsible and sustainable business.” However, there are several barriers to progress in the industry that we will need to overcome. Let’s look at what pumped storage is, how it can help us, the barriers to adoption, and some examples of projects across the US, particularly in the west where pumped storage projects are desperately needed to meet rising energy demands. Pumped storage in a nutshell Pumped storage has the capability to pump water from a lower reser- voir to an upper reservoir in periods where there is excess electricity on the grid or when energy prices are low. The water can then be released back through the reversible turbines as needed to meet energy demand. Essentially, it is a utility-scale “water battery” with virtually immediate response time. How does pumped storage work? Well, pumped storage projects have two reservoirs close together with a significant elevation difference. These reservoirs are connected by pipelines that pass through a pow- erhouse. The powerhouse contains reversible pump turbines that can generate electricity while in turbine mode and store energy while in pump mode. This ability to store energy for times of high demand works great for days when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. The ability to use excess energy that would otherwise be lost due to lack of battery storage capacity makes pumped storage even more impactful. Pumped storage projects will grow increasingly more popular as the US weens itself off fossil fuels. Why? Because they have the unique ability to provide energy reserves and grid reliability. An estimated 36 gigawatts (GW) of new pumped storage capacity could be added to
Pumped storage hydropower acts as a “water battery” that can sustainably power our communities
By Vik Iso-Ahola
The energy transition is upon us. And it has governments around the world turning to solar and wind power to help meet aggressive renew- able energy targets. However, grid operators face challenges when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. That’s just the intermittent nature of some of these renewable energy sources. If we want to take advantage of all that energy, we need the capacity to store it. Energy storage helps to quickly bring large amounts of power online to fill the gaps during times when wind or solar generation isn’t possible. Generally, when we think about energy storage we think about batter - ies. But when we talk about hydroelectric projects, energy storage can come in the form of pumped storage. In the US, pumped storage accounts for 95 percent of the energy storage capacity. And we will need to see more of these projects come online as we continue to navigate the energy transition. The good news? We are seeing pumped storage projects in development.
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October 2022 csengineermag.com
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