One of the world’s largest pumped hydropower projects, with an electricity storage capacity equivalent to 400,000 electric vehicles, is set to begin operations soon in the Swiss Alps.
One of the world’s largest pumped hydropower projects, with an electricity storage capacity equivalent to 400,000 electric vehicles, is set to begin operations soon in the Swiss Alps.
The Nant de Drance facility will funnel water from the Emosson Reservoir near the French border to a lower reservoir to the south, Clean Technica reports. As the water flows through 11 miles of tunnels built over the last 14 years, it will power six of the largest water-driven generators in the world. The turbines have the capacity to generate 900 megawatts of electricity, roughly enough to power up to 500,000 homes.
When power demand is low, surplus electricity from the Nant de Drance installation can be used to pump water from the lower reservoir back up to the Emosson Reservoir, which has a capacity of 6.5 trillion gallons. The water can then be channeled back down and pumped back up again and again, creating a steady and renewable supply of electricity and energy storage.
Read more at Yale Environment 360
Image: The Nant de Drance pumped hydropower project. (Photo Credit: NANT DE DRANCE)
