Climate Change, page-1836

I stand corrected.

Pumped hydro produces less power than it takes to pump the water uphill. So the whole process is actually is a net negative. (According to the attached article, around 90% efficient)....evaporation and mechanical loss..

It’s only purpose is to supply a boost to the energy supply when demand is high, or a short term fix for some fault in the system (maybe a coal generator goes u/s, or it’s raining on the solar panels).

In a modern energy ‘market’ this supply deficit is identified through a price mechanism (ie get a good price for the water released) and the system is ‘restocked’ in times of low energy demand (ie the price is cheap).

It’s why pumped hydro is looked at as being like a battery. It’s all about storage and targeted release than being a generator, per se.

https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/2011/11/pump-up-the-storage/