Role of Water-Energy Storage in PV-PSH Power Plant Development

This paper presents the characteristics of a power plant that combines renewable energy sources (RES), that is, a photovoltaic (PV) power plant and pump storage hydroelectric (PSH), to achieve sustainable production of green electric energy equal to that of conventional energy sources. The proposed solution does not produce CO2 and does not significantly use freshwater or other resources. The PSH storage is the main element of the proposed power plant system, which provides a continuous and reliable supply of green energy. Its size significantly affects the size of the PV generator and operation characteristics of the hybrid plant. The paper elaborates in detail the functional relationship between the choice of the PV generator power and the PSH upper storage volume and presents the basic mathematical relations. The algorithm of the system development is presented, along with the procedure choice solutions. The results from the case study show that the concept is flexible in design, construction, and oper...