PUMPED-STORAGE HYDRO POWER PLANTS IN MOLDOVA: BENEFITS FOR GRID RELIABILITY AND INTEGRATION OF VARIABLE RENEWABLES

Abstract

The present paper deals with the problem of building up a 100 MW hydro pumped storage power plant (PSHPP) in the Republic of Moldova allowing to integrate a larger capacity of renewables. The main technical characteristics of the plant have been determined (quantity of water to be pumped, the upper and the lower reservoir dimensions, etc.). Several possible plant locations were investigated and finally an indicative assessment of the plant economic feasibility has been carried out. The study demonstrates that on the territory of the Republic of Moldova exist the possibility to build a PSHPP, as a commercially proven technology for large-scale electricity storage. Building these types of plants is essential in the context of increasing variable renewable energy sources capacities, which requires the installation of new balancing capacities of the system. Abstract. The present paper deals with the problem of building up a 100 MW hydro pumped storage power plant (PSHPP) able to integrate a larger capacity of renewables. The main technical characteristics of the plant have been determined (quantity of water to be pumped, the upper and the lower reservoir dimensions, etc.). Several possible plant locations were investigated and finally an indicative assessment of the economic feasibility has been carried out. In order to determine the altitude of the slopes near the river were used the possibilities of the „Google Earth” software. The study demonstrates that on the territory of the Republic of Moldova there exists the possibility to build a PSHPP, as a commercially proven technology for large-scale electricity storage. Building these types of plants is essential in the context of increasing variable renewable energy sources capacities, which requires the installation of new balancing capacities of the system. By 2050, the country's power system requires capacities for balancing the intermittent production. Hydro pumped storage power plants become necessary in the generation capacity mix for all considered long-term development scenarios after 2030. The building of PSHPP, as the main largescale energy storage infrastructure, presents an important measure to increase the flexibility of the power system. Thus, the study demonstrates the attractiveness of implementing PSHPP projects.