Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
an underground salt dome.
4
Several plant cycles are used to dissolve
underground salt (a process sometimes called solution mining) until a large
underground cavern is attained. The plant then continues operation as a
hydro storage and generation resource.
Far earlier in patent history, a U.S. patent application for a “System of
Storing Power” was filed on June 7, 1907, by R. A. Fessenden and a patent
(No. 1,247,520) was granted on November 20, 1917. In it, Fessenden stated:
The invention herein described relates to the utilization of intermittent
sources of power and more particularly to natural intermittent sources,
such as solar radiation and wind power, and has for its object the effi-
cient and practical storage of power so derived….
It has long been recognized that mankind must, in the near future,
be faced by a shortage of power unless some means were devised for
storing power derived from the intermittent sources of nature….
These sources are, however, intermittent and the problem of storing
them in a practicable way, i.e., at a cost which should be less than that of
direct generation from coal, has for many years engaged the attention of
the most eminent engineers, among whom may be mentioned Edison,
Lord Kelvin, Ayrton, Perry, and Brush.
Fessenden went on to describe possible methods of storing energy by mov-
ing water from one elevation to another. Realization of the need for an effi-
cient and practical method of storing energy, for easy conversion to and from
electricity, is not new. For more than 100 years, people have searched for
efficient ways to store and deploy electrical energy. With the advent of mod-
ern renewable energy generation, the need for large scale energy storage is
even more urgent, and advances in water pumps, turbines, and excavation
techniques bring the concept closer to reality.
A site analysis study was performed for a large UPHES installation in the
state of Illinois in 1982. It focused on site selection, tunneling layout, machin-
ery, logistics, and costs.
5
The project was never funded for construction. In
more recent history, a detailed geologic analysis of a proposed large UPHES
installation was performed by Uddin in 2003.
6
His study focused on struc-
tural integrity analysis of excavating a lower reservoir in subterranean hard
rock, and brought to light the challenges of excavating reservoirs for deep
underground storage of water.
Small(Aquifer)UPHES
This section introduces, describes, and analyzes an aquifer underground
pumped hydroelectric energy storage system. Aquifer UPHES is a new adapta-
tion of underground pumped hydroelectric energy storage that uses an under-
ground aquifer as the lower reservoir.
7
The basis of this concept is the utilization
