The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has proposed a $3bn scheme to add pumped storage to the Hoover Dam hydropower plant. The project envisages building a pumping station - powered by solar and wind energy - 20 miles downstream from the dam by 2028. But critics say that would be too late for California in its current drought. Because the dam is on federal land the project would need approval from the US Bureau of Reclamation. Lazard estimates the levelised cost of energy for utility-scale lithium-ion batteries is 26 cents per KWh compared with 15 cents/KWh for pumped-storage.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has proposed a $3bn scheme to add pumped storage to the Hoover Dam hydropower plant. The project envisages building a pumping station - powered by solar and wind energy - 20 miles downstream from the dam by 2028. The station would pump water back upstream through a pipeline. Because the dam is on federal land the project would need approval from the US Bureau of Reclamation. Lazard estimates the levelised cost of energy for utility-scale lithium-ion batteries is 26 cents per KWh compared with 15 cents/KWh for pumped-storage.