Monday 12 September 2016

Australian firm to use goldmine for energy storage

An Australian firm has plans to reuse an abandoned goldmine to create a pumped hydroelectric energy storage site.

Genex Power expects the project to support between 1.5GW and 2.25GW of continuous power generation.

The Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project is a closed loop system, which will involve the transfer of water from the upper reservoir to the lower reservoir.

The mine has two large pits with water inside which are close to each other and a dam nearby with a pipeline to the site, which will enable access to additional water in case of drought.

During peak power demand periods, water will be released from the upper to the lower reservoir and when demand is low, electricity is sourced from the grid to pump water to the higher reservoir.

Power generated will be sold directly into the country's grid.

Furthermore, the company is developing a 50MW solar farm at the same site which will generate around 145,000MWh annually.