On the Threshold of the Energy Storage Era
The energy paradigm of the twenty first century is characterized by a profound contradiction: humanity, for the first time in its history, possesses the technological capacity to produce enough energy for the vast majority of the planet; yet it faces serious structural limitations in consuming or storing this energy at the moment of its production. Solar panels operate at maximum capacity during midday hours but cannot meet the rising demand in the evening. Wind turbines produce excess energy on stormy nights but remain idle on calm summer days. This temporal mismatch constitutes one of the most fundamental technical and economic problems of the renewable energy revolution.
The massive construction site rising in the Daofu region, located in the northwestern part of China’s Sichuan Province, represents one of the most striking responses to this problem. Situated at an elevation of approximately 3,500 meters above sea level on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, the Daofu Pumped Storage Hydropower Station is not merely an energy infrastructure project; it is also a paradigmatic intervention into the concept of energy storage. By transcending the limitations of chemical batteries, the project applies one of the oldest and most reliable forms of energy storage, gravitational potential energy, on an unprecedented scale.
Technical Anatomy of the Daofu Project
Geographic Location and Topographic Advantages
The Daofu Pumped Storage Hydropower Station is located within the boundaries of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, near Daofu County. The region lies in the complex topographic belt where the Tibetan Plateau descends eastward, transitioning into the Sichuan Basin. This location provides the project with two critical advantages: first, a steep topographic gradient that enables the creation of an extraordinary hydraulic head (pressure height) between the lower and upper reservoirs; second, the project’s proximity to the abundant water resources of the Tibetan Plateau and the region’s steadily growing renewable energy infrastructure.
The most striking technical parameter of the project is the maximum hydraulic head of approximately 760.7 meters between the two reservoirs. This value is among the highest for pumped storage hydropower facilities on a global scale and constitutes the fundamental factor determining the project’s energy density. The relationship between hydraulic head and the potential energy that can be stored can be explained through basic physics principles:
E_p equals m multiplied by g multiplied by h
Where E_p represents potential energy (Joules), m represents water mass (kilograms), g represents gravitational acceleration (9.81 meters per second squared), and h represents hydraulic head (meters). A hydraulic head of 760.7 meters means approximately 2.5 times more energy storage capacity for the same amount of water compared to a facility with a head of 300 meters. This simple physical relationship explains why Daofu is being built specifically in this region: topography is the determining variable of energy storage efficiency.
System Architecture and Technical Specifications
The system architecture of the Daofu Pumped Storage Hydropower Station is based on classical pumped storage hydropower principles, yet it draws attention with its scale and technical parameters. The project’s installed power capacity has been set at 2.1 GW (2,100 MW). The designed annual electricity generation is approximately 2.994 billion kWh. The maximum hydraulic head between the two reservoirs reaches approximately 760.7 meters. The system’s daily energy storage capacity has been calculated at approximately 12.6 million kWh. This amount is considered equivalent to the daily electricity consumption of approximately 2 million households. Construction of the project, which began in January 2024, is taking place at an elevation of approximately 3,500 meters.
These parameters offer striking reference points for grasping the scale of the project. An installed power capacity of 2.1 GW is roughly equivalent to half the planned total capacity of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (4.8 GW), Turkey’s largest nuclear energy project. A daily storage capacity of 12.6 million kWh represents an amount of energy equivalent to approximately 630,000 electric vehicle batteries with a capacity of 20 kWh each.
The system’s operating cycle is fundamentally a reversible process consisting of two stages:
Pumping Phase (Energy Storage): During hours when electricity demand is low and renewable energy production is high (typically between midnight and early morning), the system uses excess electricity to operate high capacity pumps. These pumps transport water from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir located more than 760 meters above. In this phase, electrical energy is converted into the gravitational potential energy of water.
Turbining Phase (Energy Generation): During peak demand hours (typically evening hours), water from the upper reservoir is released in a controlled manner. Gaining kinetic energy throughout its descent of hundreds of meters, the water rotates the turbines at the lower reservoir level, enabling the generators to produce electricity. In this phase, the water’s potential energy is converted into kinetic energy and ultimately into electrical energy.
This bidirectional energy conversion process forms the basis for conceptualizing the system as a “battery.” Energy stored through electrochemical reactions in a chemical battery is stored here in a physical medium: a body of water positioned at height.
Efficiency and Thermodynamic Limits
The round trip efficiency of pumped storage hydropower systems is defined as the ratio of the energy obtained during the turbining phase to the energy consumed during the pumping phase. In modern pumped storage hydropower facilities, this ratio typically ranges between 70 and 80 percent. The high hydraulic head of the Daofu Project may serve as a factor that increases turbine efficiency, since the hydrodynamic performance of turbine blades is generally higher in high pressure heads.
However, the first law of thermodynamics firmly establishes that no energy storage system can achieve 100 percent efficiency. Energy losses occurring in electric motors during pumping, in frictional pipe flow, and in generators during turbining constitute the unavoidable efficiency limits of the system. Frictional losses in pipes can be modeled using the Darcy Weisbach equation:
h_f equals f multiplied by (L divided by D) multiplied by (v squared divided by 2g)
Where h_f represents friction induced head loss, f represents the friction factor, L represents pipe length, D represents pipe diameter, and v represents flow velocity. In large scale projects like Daofu, pipe diameters are optimized and friction is reduced through interior surface coatings to minimize these losses.
Nevertheless, the round trip efficiency of pumped storage hydropower systems in the 70 to 80 percent range makes them one of the most efficient large scale energy storage technologies available today. Although lower compared to the 85 to 95 percent efficiency of lithium ion batteries, the much longer cycle life and far greater scalability advantages of pumped storage hydropower offset this efficiency difference.
Comparative Analysis of Energy Storage Technologies
Chemical Storage: The Battery Era
Lithium ion batteries have spearheaded a revolutionary transformation in the field of energy storage over the past two decades. The decline in costs by approximately 90 percent since 2010 has enabled the commercialization of electric vehicles and accelerated the proliferation of grid scale battery systems. As of 2023, global lithium ion battery production capacity has exceeded the 1 TWh threshold.
Nevertheless, lithium ion batteries face structural problems in large scale energy storage applications:
Raw Material Constraints: The extraction of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel is geographically concentrated. Approximately 70 percent of cobalt production takes place in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which exposes supply chains to geopolitical risks. Lithium is primarily extracted in Australia, Chile, and China, with more than 60 percent of processing capacity concentrated in China.
Cycle Life and Degradation: A typical lithium ion battery cell loses 20 percent of its capacity after 3,000 to 5,000 full charge discharge cycles. This poses a significant limitation for grid scale storage systems that may need to perform more than one cycle per day.
Safety and Thermal Management: The risk of thermal runaway in large scale battery systems requires comprehensive cooling and monitoring systems. The fire at the Victoria Big Battery project in Australia in 2021 provided a concrete example of these risks.
Scale Limitations: The largest lithium ion battery storage facility in operation today, the Moss Landing Project in California, has a storage capacity of 1.6 GWh. Daofu’s daily storage capacity of 12.6 GWh is approximately eight times this value.
Mechanical Storage: Gravity and Pressure
Mechanical energy storage systems are technologies that store energy in physical media, in the form of potential energy, kinetic energy, or pressure. Pumped storage hydropower is the most mature and most widespread technology in this category.
Pumped Storage Hydropower: Accounting for more than 90 percent of global energy storage capacity, pumped storage hydropower stands out with operational lifetimes of 50 to 100 years. A pumped storage hydropower facility can operate for more than 50,000 cycles with minimal capacity loss. Its main disadvantages are high initial capital costs (typically 1,000 to 2,500 US dollars per kW) and the requirement for suitable geographical conditions.
Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES): This technology, which stores energy in the form of compressed air in underground caverns, offers scalability advantages similar to pumped storage hydropower. However, conventional CAES systems use natural gas to heat the air and are therefore not an entirely clean solution. Advanced adiabatic CAES systems aim to solve this problem.
Gravity Batteries: These systems, developed by companies such as Energy Vault, store energy as gravitational potential energy using cranes and heavy blocks. However, the scale of these systems is still very limited compared to pumped storage hydropower (typically at the MWh level).
Complementarity Rather Than Competition in Energy Storage
The relationship between different energy storage technologies should be conceptualized as a complementary ecosystem rather than a zero sum competition. Each technology serves different niches along the dimensions of discharge duration, response speed, scalability, and cost. Lithium ion batteries are ideal for short duration storage and frequency regulation, ranging from milliseconds to a few hours. Pumped storage hydropower systems are optimized for long duration storage of 6 to 24 hours and daily load shifting. Chemical storage solutions such as green hydrogen offer seasonal storage potential (from summer sun to winter electricity).
The Daofu Project targets the “long duration, large scale storage” niche within this ecosystem. The abundant hydropower and increasingly growing solar energy capacity in Sichuan cause excess energy to be generated during daytime hours. Daofu will be able to store this excess energy and make it available during evening peak demand, thereby optimizing the grid integration of renewable energy.
China’s Energy Transformation Strategy and the Role of Pumped Storage Hydropower
Carbon Neutrality Target and Storage Requirements
The People’s Republic of China announced its target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2020. This target requires a fundamental transformation in the energy system of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter. In 2023, China installed 216 GW of new solar energy capacity, single handedly realizing more than half of global solar energy growth. However, this rapid growth creates serious problems in terms of grid stability.
According to data from China’s National Energy Administration, the curtailment rate of solar and wind energy exceeds 10 percent in some regions of the country. This means that the clean energy produced cannot be integrated into the grid and goes to waste. Energy storage systems are seen as a critical infrastructure component to solve this curtailment problem.
In 2021, the Chinese government published its “Guiding Opinions on the Development of New Energy Storage,” targeting 30 GW of new energy storage capacity by 2025. Pumped storage hydropower lies at the center of this target. According to the “Medium and Long Term Pumped Storage Hydropower Development Plan” published by the National Energy Administration in 2021, China’s pumped storage hydropower capacity is targeted to reach 62 GW in 2025 and 120 GW in 2030.
Sichuan’s Strategic Position
Sichuan Province holds a special position in China’s energy transformation. The province has long been referred to as “China’s battery” due to its rich hydropower resources. However, with rapidly increasing solar energy capacity in recent years, the province’s energy system has faced a new imbalance.
The Daofu region has conditions favorable for photovoltaic energy production, with annual average sunshine duration of 2,000 to 2,500 hours. At the same time, the abundant water resources flowing from the Tibetan Plateau toward the Sichuan Basin are ideal for hydropower generation. However, the seasonal profiles of these two sources differ: hydropower generation peaks in summer months (during the rainy season), while solar energy generation is higher in winter months (due to clearer skies). The Daofu Pumped Storage Hydropower Station can serve as a buffer to balance these seasonal and daily fluctuations.
Energy Security and Geopolitical Dimensions
The selection of energy storage technologies is subject not only to technical and economic criteria but also to geopolitical considerations. The widespread use of lithium ion batteries makes China dependent on the import of certain critical minerals. Although China holds a large portion of lithium processing capacity, a significant portion of raw lithium is imported.
Pumped storage hydropower, on the other hand, can largely source the materials required for its construction domestically (cement used in concrete, steel used in turbines). This makes pumped storage hydropower a more resilient option in terms of energy security. Furthermore, the operational lifetime of a pumped storage hydropower facility, ranging from 50 to 100 years, is far longer than battery systems that need replacement every 10 to 15 years.
Environmental Impacts and Sustainability Debates
Intervention in Mountain Ecology
The fact that the Daofu Project is being built at an elevation of approximately 3,500 meters, in a region with the sensitive ecology of the Tibetan Plateau, raises significant environmental questions. Although pumped storage hydropower projects do not emit greenhouse gases during the operational phase, they deserve comprehensive environmental assessment in terms of the construction phase and the lasting impacts they leave on the ecosystem.
The primary areas of environmental impact of the project are as follows:
Land Use and Habitat Loss: The construction of the upper and lower reservoirs will cause thousands of hectares of mountain ecosystem to be submerged. These areas may provide habitat for endemic species unique to the Tibetan Plateau.
Intervention in the Hydrological Cycle: The continuous movement of water between the lower and upper reservoirs may affect local groundwater levels and surface flow regimes.
Construction Related Emissions: The production of cement and steel to be used during the project’s construction will lead to significant carbon emissions. This “embodied carbon” cost needs to be weighed against the emission savings the facility will provide over its operational lifetime.
Seismic Risks: The region is located in a tectonically active belt. The movement of large scale water masses and the weight of the reservoirs carry the potential to trigger seismic activity.
Comparative Environmental Assessment
The environmental impacts of energy storage technologies should be evaluated not only from the operational phase but from a perspective encompassing the entire life cycle. From a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective, pumped storage hydropower systems show high environmental impact during the construction phase, but leave low impact per unit of stored energy over a 50 to 100 year lifetime and require minimal resource consumption, only water, during the operational phase. Lithium ion batteries cause water pollution and habitat destruction during the mining phase, have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, and the recycling infrastructure is still in the development stage. Hydrogen storage is energy intensive during the production phase and requires special infrastructure for storage and transportation.
This comparison demonstrates that no technology possesses a “perfect” environmental profile and that each involves its own specific trade offs. In the specific case of the Daofu Project, the efficiency advantage provided by the high hydraulic head can be considered a factor that reduces the environmental impact per unit of stored energy.
Social Impacts and Displacement
Perhaps the most controversial dimension of large scale hydropower projects is their social impacts on local communities. The Daofu region is an area predominantly inhabited by Tibetan communities, where cultural and spiritual values are closely tied to the geography. The construction of the project may cause agricultural lands and potentially residential areas to be submerged.
Mandatory resettlement programs implemented in large infrastructure projects in China have been the subject of significant criticism in the past. The Three Gorges Dam project resulted in the displacement of approximately 1.3 million people. Although the scale of the Daofu Project is much smaller, the transparent assessment and management of social impacts on local communities is of critical importance for the project’s social legitimacy.
Engineering Challenges and Innovation
Challenges of High Altitude Construction
Construction at an elevation of 3,500 meters presents a series of unique engineering challenges compared to construction at sea level:
Reduced Oxygen Levels: At this altitude, atmospheric pressure drops to approximately 65 percent of sea level. This creates problems both for worker health and safety and for the performance of internal combustion engine equipment. Diesel engines can lose 30 to 40 percent of their power at this altitude.
Freeze Thaw Cycles: The harsh climate of the Tibetan Plateau can be subject to more than 200 freeze thaw cycles per year. These cycles threaten the durability of concrete structures and require special concrete formulations and construction techniques.
Transportation Logistics: Transporting massive turbine components and construction materials to mountainous terrain is a complex logistical operation. Transporting heavy components such as turbine rotors and stators may require special road improvements or modular design approaches.
Technical Challenges Related to High Hydraulic Head
A hydraulic head of 760.7 meters is unusually high for pumped storage hydropower systems and brings with it special engineering challenges:
Pressure Management: The water column at this height creates approximately 76 bar (7.6 MPa) of pressure at the turbine level. This pressure requires penstocks and turbine components to be manufactured from high strength steel.
Water Hammer Risk: In the event of sudden valve closures or turbine shutdowns, destructive pressure waves can form in the pipe system. This phenomenon, expressed by the Joukowski equation:
ΔP equals ρ multiplied by c multiplied by Δv
Where ΔP represents the pressure change, ρ represents the density of water, c represents the speed of the sound wave in water, and Δv represents the change in flow velocity. The risk of water hammer is greater in systems with high hydraulic head and requires comprehensive pressure relief systems.
Turbine Technology: Pelton turbines optimized for high pressure heads or special variants of Francis turbines may be required. The manufacturing of these turbines requires high precision machining and special alloys.
Innovative Solutions and Technology Transfer
While the technical specifications of the Daofu Project demonstrate China’s competence in pumped storage hydropower technology, international technology transfer is still needed for some critical components. The experience of international companies such as Voith Hydro, GE Renewable Energy, and Andritz is particularly important in the design and manufacture of high pressure, large diameter turbines.
Nevertheless, the progress China has made in pumped storage hydropower technology, especially in the last decade, is noteworthy. State owned engineering firms such as POWERCHINA now rank among the world leaders in the design, equipment manufacturing, and construction of pumped storage hydropower projects. The Daofu Project can be considered a reference project showcasing this competence at the highest level.
Economic Analysis: Costs, Financing, and Market Dynamics
Capital Costs and Financing Structure
Although the total investment cost of the Daofu Project has not been publicly disclosed, it is possible to make estimates based on projects of similar scale. For a pumped storage hydropower project with a capacity of 2.1 GW, assuming a unit cost in the range of 1,500 to 2,500 US dollars per kW, the total investment cost can be expected to fall in the range of 3.15 to 5.25 billion US dollars.
The typical financing structure for projects of this magnitude consists of 20 to 30 percent equity and 70 to 80 percent debt financing. In China, such strategic infrastructure projects are generally financed by state banks (China Development Bank, China Exim Bank) with favorable condition loans. Multilateral institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB) are also among potential financing sources.
Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS)
The fundamental metric used for the economic comparison of energy storage technologies is the Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS). LCOS expresses the total cost per unit of energy stored over the life cycle of the storage system and is calculated using the following formula:
LCOS equals (Capital Cost plus the sum of Operating Cost at time t divided by (1 plus r) to the power of t) divided by (the sum of Stored Energy at time t divided by (1 plus r) to the power of t)
According to Lazard’s 2023 analysis, the LCOS for pumped storage hydropower is in the range of 150 to 250 US dollars per MWh, while for lithium ion batteries this value is in the range of 200 to 350 US dollars per MWh. However, these values can vary significantly depending on regional conditions and specific project parameters.
The high hydraulic head of the Daofu Project will serve as a factor that drives down the LCOS by enabling more energy to be stored per unit water volume. Furthermore, the operational lifetime of the facility, expected to exceed 50 years, will improve the LCOS by spreading the initial investment cost over a long time horizon.
Revenue Models and Market Integration
The revenue model of pumped storage hydropower facilities can consist of various components depending on the structure of the electricity market:
Energy Arbitrage: The most basic source of revenue is storing energy by pumping during hours when electricity prices are low and selling this energy during hours when prices are high. The profitability of this “buy low, sell high” strategy depends on the spread between peak and off peak prices.
Ancillary Services: Pumped storage hydropower facilities can earn additional revenue by providing grid ancillary services such as frequency regulation, voltage control, and spinning reserve. Thanks to their high ramp rates, pumped storage hydropower facilities can respond rapidly to sudden changes in grid frequency.
Capacity Payments: In some market structures, storage facilities may receive capacity payments in return for their contribution to grid reliability.
China’s electricity market is still in a reform process, and energy pricing is not entirely determined by free market conditions. This may create uncertainty for the revenue model of projects like Daofu. However, the fact that the Chinese government has designated pumped storage hydropower as a strategic priority indicates that appropriate market arrangements will be made for such projects.
Current Status and Timeline of the Project
Construction Phase
Construction of the Daofu Pumped Storage Hydropower Station officially began as of January 2024. The project is still in the construction phase and is not a completed facility. The portrayal of the project as a completed “miracle battery” in social media and some news sources does not reflect reality. The construction of such mega projects is typically expected to take five to eight years.
The construction process will proceed in several stages, as is typical for a pumped storage hydropower project. The first stage, the Preparation Phase (2024 to 2025), encompasses the construction of access roads, preparation of the construction site, and foundation excavations. The second stage, the Main Construction Phase (2025 to 2028), includes the excavation and concreting of reservoir areas, laying of penstocks, and installation of turbines and generators. The third stage, the Commissioning Phase (2028 to 2030), will encompass system testing, water filling, and gradual capacity increase. The fourth and final stage, Full Operation (2030 and beyond), represents the transition to full capacity commercial operation.
This timeline represents an optimistic scenario given the complexity and scale of the project. The challenges posed by high altitude construction and potential supply chain disruptions could extend the schedule.
Media Representation and Reality Check
The framing of the Daofu Project in the media and on social media as a “giant water battery built inside a mountain” is a powerful narrative that emphasizes the innovative character of the project. This narrative transforms energy storage from an abstract technical concept into a concrete, comprehensible image. The “turning a mountain into a battery” metaphor, while effective in terms of science communication, can also lead to certain misunderstandings.
First of all, the project is not an underground facility built by “hollowing out” a mountain. It is a surface facility consisting of two open air reservoirs and the pipe system connecting them. Secondly, the system is not a “battery” but an energy storage system; it stores energy physically, not chemically. This distinction is important from a technical standpoint.
Implications for Global Energy Transformation
The Global Revival of Pumped Storage Hydropower
The Daofu Project is part of the renewed global interest in pumped storage hydropower. According to data from the International Hydropower Association (IHA), approximately 160 GW of pumped storage hydropower capacity is in operation worldwide as of 2023, and over 60 GW of capacity is under construction. Projects such as Eagle Mountain in the USA (1.3 GW), Snowy 2.0 in Australia (2 GW), and Nant de Drance in Switzerland (900 MW) demonstrate the strategic role of pumped storage hydropower in the global energy transformation.
Several fundamental factors lie behind the revival of pumped storage hydropower. Growing solar and wind energy capacity is increasing the need for long duration storage. The scale and cost limitations of lithium ion batteries highlight the need for complementary storage solutions. Pumped storage hydropower is a proven technology with over 100 years of operational experience. Furthermore, operational lifetimes of 50 to 100 years make pumped storage hydropower attractive for long term energy planning.
Can It Serve as a Model for Developing Countries?
The large scale pumped storage hydropower model represented by the Daofu Project could serve as a potential reference for developing countries with similar geographical conditions. Countries with high mountainous regions such as Nepal, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Peru, and Turkey possess suitable topography for pumped storage hydropower projects.
However, caution is required regarding the transferability of such mega projects. Pumped storage hydropower projects requiring billions of dollars in investment exceed the financial capacity of many developing countries; the favorable condition financing that China provides through its state banks may not be available in other countries. Pumped storage hydropower projects also require complex planning, regulatory, and management capacity; without strong institutional structures, the successful completion of such projects is difficult. Additionally, the economics of pumped storage hydropower depend on electricity markets where there is a sufficient spread between peak and off peak prices; arbitrage opportunities may be limited in smaller grids where demand is less variable.
The Future of Energy Storage: Integrated Systems
The future of energy storage is evolving toward hybrid systems in which different storage solutions are integrated, rather than the dominance of a single technology. While large scale pumped storage hydropower facilities like Daofu provide ideal infrastructure for daily load shifting and seasonal storage, lithium ion batteries can play a role in services requiring rapid response such as frequency regulation, and green hydrogen can play a role in long distance energy transportation.
This integrated approach will increase the resilience of energy systems and play a critical role in overcoming the challenges arising from the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources. The Daofu Project can be read as a harbinger of this integrated future: beyond being a massive engineering achievement, it is a concrete expression of the will to build new ways of storing energy and spreading it across time.
Conclusion
China’s Daofu Pumped Storage Hydropower Station represents a turning point in the evolution of energy storage technologies. With its installed capacity of 2.1 GW and daily storage capacity of 12.6 million kWh, the project is pushing the boundaries of pumped storage hydropower technology and offering a large scale response to one of the greatest obstacles facing renewable energy integration: the intermittency problem.
Nevertheless, the fact that the project’s construction, which began in January 2024, is still ongoing and that its completion will take years is an important reminder of the time horizon involved in such mega projects. Energy transformation is a process that requires not only technological innovations but also long term planning and patient investment.
Daofu is the story of turning a mountain into a battery; but this story is also the story of humanity rediscovering one of its oldest energy sources, gravity, for its newest energy needs. When the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow, the potential energy of water lifted high can continue to keep the lights on. This simple physics principle may be one of the most elegant answers to our complex energy problems.
The ultimate success or failure of the project will be measured not only by technical parameters but also by the extent to which environmental impacts can be managed, the extent to which local communities benefit, and how well the system can adapt to changing market conditions. In this context, Daofu is not only an energy infrastructure project but also a case study for examining the complex socio technical nature of energy transformation.
References
- Global Times. “China builds giant ‘water battery’ in Sichuan mountain.” 2024.
- China.org.cn. “Daofu Pumped Storage Power Station Project Overview.” 2024.
- National Energy Administration of China. “Medium and Long Term Pumped Storage Development Plan (2021 to 2035).” 2021.
- International Hydropower Association. “2023 World Hydropower Outlook.” London: IHA, 2023.
- POWERCHINA Chengdu Engineering Corporation. “Daofu Pumped Storage Project Technical Specifications.” 2024.
- Lazard. “Levelized Cost of Storage Analysis, Version 8.0.” 2023.
- Blakers, A., Stocks, M., Lu, B., and Cheng, C. “A review of pumped hydro energy storage.” Progress in Energy, 3(2), 022003, 2021.
- Rehman, S., Al Hadhrami, L. M., and Alam, M. M. “Pumped hydro energy storage system: A technological review.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 44, 586 to 598, 2015.
- IRENA. “Renewable Energy Statistics 2024.” Abu Dhabi: International Renewable Energy Agency, 2024.
- Zhang, Y., et al. “Environmental impacts of pumped storage hydropower: A review.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 157, 112048, 2022.
Sefa Yürükel
Danish ethnographer and social anthropologist (MA)
Aarhus University, 1997
Independent Researcher
Fields of Research: International Politics, Public International Law, Geopolitics, Sociology, Psychology, Cultural Studies, Systems and Structures.
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