Pumping station design for a pumped-storage wind-hydro power plant

This work presents a numerical study of the optimum sizing and design of a pumping station unit in a hybrid wind-hydro plant. The standard design that consists of a number of identical pumps operating in parallel is examined in comparison with two other configurations, using a variable speed pump or an additional set of smaller jockey pumps. The aim is to reduce the portion of the wind generated energy that cannot be transformed to hydraulic due to power operation limits of the pumps and the resulting step-wise operation of the pumping station. A preliminary optimization study of the entire plant sizing is carried out using evolutionary algorithms. The subsequent examination of the pumping station performance is based on a detailed simulation of the entire plant operation for a period of one year. The results showed that the use of a variable speed pump is the most effective and profitable solution.