Pumped-storage hydropower and hydrogen storage for meeting water and energy demand through a hybrid renewable energy system

Abstract

The majority of the Greek islands have autonomous energy stations, which use fossil fuels to produce electricity in order to meet electricity demand. Also, the water in the network is not fit for consumption. In this paper, the potential development of a hybrid renewable energy system is examined to address the issue of generating drinking water (desalination) and electricity while releasing zero pollutants into the atmosphere. Wind turbines supply wind energy, while an additional amount of energy is stored using pumped-storage hydropower and green hydrogen tanks. These two storage options are investigated for the purpose of storing and distributing clean wind energy in a controlled manner. Three scenarios are investigated. The first scenario only relies on the pumped-storage hydroelectricity technology (88% of the total annual power demand is covered), the second scenario investigates hydrogen storage technology (83% of the total annual electricity demand is covered), and the third scenario uses a hybrid storage solution consisting of pumped-storage hydropower and green hydrogen tanks (95% coverage).