StEnSea - Offshore Pumped Hydroelectric Storage

The concept of the marine pumped storage power plant uses the sea itself as the upper storage reservoir. The lower reservoir is formed by a hollow body on the seabed, which is pumped empty with charging current during pump operation and filled with water again during discharge operation via a turbine to the generator drive.

How does the sea pump storage tank work?

First of all, a hollow body is installed on the seabed. On the upper side, there is an opening in which a pump turbine unit is integrated. If you open a valve on the ball, water flows into the ball and drives the turbine. Electricity is thus generated (as with a pumped storage hydroelectric power station on land). This corresponds to discharging the storage tank. When charging the storage tank, water is pumped out of the sphere with e.g. excess wind or solar power against the pressure of the water column. The storage capacity increases linearly with the water depth for the same volume.

The exhibit illustrates the principle of StEnSea.