The National Hydropower association applauds officials for their input regarding pumped storage hydropower during a recent U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on grid-scale energy storage, the NHA said.
“Yesterday’s hearing shows that policymakers understand the important role pumped storage can and must play in integrating new, variable renewable energy resources onto the grid and storing energy for when electricity consumers need it most,” NHA Executive Director Linda Church Ciocci said.
The NHA said they were pleased with comments from Senators Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., as well as from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff.
Sen. Murkowski said that, in Alaska, pumped storage has been a proven provider of energy.
“Coming from Alaska, I can appreciate that pumped hydro has been the energy storage workhorse, providing the most storage capacity that can deliver power during peak demands,” Murkowski said. “It often doesn’t get the credit it deserves.”
Sen. Wyden said: “(Energy storage) is an extraordinarily important topic…We fritter away so much of this extraordinary (renewable energy) resource because we have not set in place…the full array of storage technologies that would allow us to capture the full potential of these renewable resources.”
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