Pumped storage reservoirs store energy by pumping water to an elevated storage area and releasing it through turbines to generate electricity when demand is high. This allows energy to be stored for quick release without pollution. While expensive to build, pumped storage is renewable, has little landscape impact, and is reliable since water can be released on demand. An example is Dinorwig in Wales, which stores water 600 meters above turbines for high-pressure generation.

1. By Sebastian

2. How it works
• Pumped storage reservoirs aren't really a
means of generating electrical power.
They're a way of storing energy so that we
can release it quickly when we need it.

3. Diagram
When the turbine spins it produces
kinetic energy which is used in the
generator to produce electricity
The water
is stored
and
released
when it is
needed

4. Advantages
• Without some means of storing energy for
quick release, we'd be in trouble.
• Little effect on the landscape.
No pollution or waste
• Its renewable

5. Disadvantages
• Expensive to build.
• Once it's used, you can't use it again until
you've pumped the water back up.
But the industry is very good at predicting
when the surges in power demand will
happen, so good planning can get around
this problem

6. Reliability
• It is very reliable because we can release
the water to make energy when we need
it.

7. Dinorwig
• It is a place where there is a pumped storage
stations. When water is pumped up to the top
reservoir (called "Marchlyn Mawr") we are
storing gravitational potential energy in it. The
greater the height, the more energy is stored.
The water falls 600 metres on its way to the
turbines, so it's under a great deal of pressure
when it arrives. For this reason, the tunnels are
lined with steel at the bottom end. It is a good
place because there is a lot of high ground.

8. Hydroelectricity improves the air we
breathe
• Hydroelectric power plants don't release
pollutants into the air. They very frequently
substitute the generation from fossil fuels,
thus reducing acid rain and smog. In
addition to this, hydroelectric
developments don't generate toxic by-
products.

9. Hydroelectricity offers a significant
contribution to development.
Hydroelectric installations bring electricity,
highways, industry and commerce to
communities, thus developing the
economy, expanding access to health and
education, and improving the quality of
life. Hydroelectricity is a technology that
has been known and proven for more than
a century.

10. Hydroelectricity offers a significant
contribution to development.
Hydroelectric installations bring electricity,
highways, industry and commerce to
communities, thus developing the
economy, expanding access to health and
education, and improving the quality of
life. Hydroelectricity is a technology that
has been known and proven for more than
a century.