Analysis of Pumped Storage Plants (PSP) viability associated with other types of intermittent renewable energy

The energy generated by wind or solar photovoltaic (PV system) can be used by PSP to accumulate water in the upper reservoir, in the form of potential energy to be used later, during periods of high energy demand. This procedure offers the advantage of enabling the use of intermittent renewable energy source in times of growing needs of the electric power supply. The location of the PSP, the environmental aspects involved, their possible use for various purposes (stability of the power system at peak times, associate the turbine water for public supply purposes, among others) and the discussion of regulatory issues needs to be debated in the current context, where environmental issues require reliable sources of power generation and demand shows strong growth rates. A dynamic model is used to analyze the behavior of a PSP proposal for a site in Brazil, analyzing a complete cycle of its operation as a pump or turbine. The existing difficulties to use this proposal based on existing regulatory policies are also discussed, and a list of recommended adjustments is provided to allow the penetrations of PSP projects in the Brazilian institutional framework, coupled with other intermittent energy sources.