• Energy
    • Wind Power
    • Hydroelectric
  • Self-Consumption
    • Wind
    • Photovoltaic Solar
    • Storage
    • Microgrids
    • Biogas
    • Hydrogen
  • TECHnPower
    • Wind Turbines
      • nED100
    • Energy Storage
      • Battery Energy Storage Systems
      • Power converters
  • Services
    • Decarbonization
    • Energy Engineering
    • EPC Energy
    • Operation & Maintenance
    • 24/7 Control Centre
    • Monitoring & Control
  • En
    • Es
    • Gl

< Back | 31 January 2022

Pumped Energy Storage: Past, Present and Future.

Pumping plants store energy in the form of gravitational potential energy of water, lifting water from a lower reservoir to a higher one. During periods of high demand, the water stored in the upper reservoir is released by turbines to a lower reservoir to produce electricity, while in periods of low demand the water is pumped back to the upper reservoir and stored again. Although in general these are surface reserves (packaging, deposits, etc.), the sea or underground caverns can also be used as a lower reserve.

The technical peculiarity that occurs with respect to conventional hydroelectric plants is the use of reversible turbopump groups (although they can have two different independent units) that allow alternately turbined or pumped water between two reservoirs located at different levels.

From a hydraulic point of view, the storages are classified in closed or open circuit systems, or what is the same, pure accumulation plants, or mixed. In the case of closed circuits, the storage hydraulic circuit is not continuously connected to a natural channel – only for the initial filling, and to recover losses due to evaporation or infiltration -; while in the case of open circuits, the connection is permanent.

Learn all about the past, present and future of pumped energy storage in this article.

Gerardo López

Civil Engineer from the UDC, he joined Norvento in 2002, highlighting his participation in projects in the field of mini-hydraulic energy (promotion, engineering, construction, exploitation) and in R&D projects.

Currently, it develops proposals related to wave-type marine energy, medium-power wind energy, and more recently, energy storage in mines.

Share: Facebook Mail Linkedin Twitter
< Renewable technologies of the future Hydrogen: an energy vector that is stored and distributed. >
  • Energy
    • Wind Power
    • Hydroelectric
  • Self-Consumption
    • Wind
    • Photovoltaic Solar
    • Storage
    • Microgrids
    • Biogas
    • Hydrogen
  • TECHnPower
    • Wind turbines
      • nED100
    • Energy Storage
      • Battery Energy Storage Systems
      • Power converters
  • Services
    • Decarbonization
    • Energy Engineering
    • EPC Energy
    • Operation & Maintenance
    • 24/7 Control Centre
    • Monitoring & Control
  • Norvento
    • Get to know us better
    • Our team
    • Sustainability
    • Innovation
  • Work with us
    • Your career at Norvento
    • Talent Scholarship Scheme
  • Communication
    • Press room
    • Blog
  • Contact us
  • Visit us
  • CIne, our headquarters. Zero Energy Building
  • Linkedin
  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • © 2025
  • R&D Projects
  • Legal notice
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookie policy
  • Whistleblower Channel
En
  • Es
  • Gl
  • Energy
    • Wind Power
    • Hydroelectric
  • Self-Consumption
    • Wind
    • Photovoltaic Solar
    • Storage
    • Microgrids
    • Biogas
    • Hydrogen
  • TECHnPower
    • Wind turbines
      • nED100
    • Energy Storage
      • Battery Energy Storage Systems
      • Power converters
  • Services
    • Decarbonization
    • Energy Engineering
    • EPC Energy
    • Operation & Maintenance
    • 24/7 Control Centre
    • Monitoring & Control
  • Norvento
    • Get to know us better
    • Our team
    • Sustainability
    • Innovation
  • Work with us
    • Your career at Norvento
    • Talent Scholarship Scheme
  • Communication
    • Press room
    • Blog
  • Contact us
  • Visit us
  • CIne, our headquarters. Zero Energy Building
Gestionar consentimiento

At Norvento Enerxía we use our own and third-party cookies for different purposes: performance, security and analytics. You can customize your preferences through the configuration panel, as well as obtain additional information about the processing of your data, including the exercise of your rights, by consulting our Cookies Policy.
You can change the settings at any time by returning to the dashboard, clicking on a different option, and refreshing the web page. 

Technicals Always active
Analítica
Preferencias
El almacenamiento o acceso técnico es necesario para la finalidad legítima de almacenar preferencias no solicitadas por el abonado o usuario.
Statistics
El almacenamiento o acceso técnico que es utilizado exclusivamente con fines estadísticos. El almacenamiento o acceso técnico que se utiliza exclusivamente con fines estadísticos anónimos. Sin un requerimiento, el cumplimiento voluntario por parte de tu proveedor de servicios de Internet, o los registros adicionales de un tercero, la información almacenada o recuperada sólo para este propósito no se puede utilizar para identificarte.
Marketing
El almacenamiento o acceso técnico es necesario para crear perfiles de usuario para enviar publicidad, o para rastrear al usuario en una web o en varias web con fines de marketing similares.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Set my preferences
{title} {title} {title}