23-24/11/11 : SHF - Lyon

Stockage d'énergie par pompage

Pumped Storage Powerplants
(Challenges and opportunities)

23 and 24 November 2011, Lyon
(France)

More information: www.shf.asso.fr/122-1-events-16.html

The possibility of storing and recovering a large amount of energy very quickly is one of the main challenges confronting the energy industry at the present time. Pumped storage power plants are presently one of the few ways for satisfying these two criteria.

Pumped storage has been previously used to absorb non-flexible energy sources such as nuclear and run-of-river power plants. However, the development of renewable intermittent energies makes energy production highly dependent on meteorological conditions. Wind power, solar energy and marine energy are all fatal energies, meaning that the energy produced is lost if it is not consumed immediately and is not generated during peak consumption hours. Energy storage is therefore the only means for managing production according to demand by smoothing production and consumption curves.

Lastly, the flexibility of this type of storage allows for recovering the energy almost immediately, a characteristic much appreciated by energy transport grids that have to deal with considerable fluctuations in supply and demand.

Pumped energy storage is therefore a key component in the development of new forms of energy.
However, despite this observation, the development of this type of energy storage differs greatly from
one country to another.

The symposium intends to encourage professionals in this field (producers, constructors, administrations, regulators of electricity systems, engineering offices) to meet and discuss technicaleconomic questions.
This meeting will be widely opened to the European and international field players.