ETIP HYDROPOWER has released a new video produced by its Working Group 1 aimed at demonstrating hydropower’s role in providing grid flexibility and energy storage in Europe.
The video uses a simple analogy, likening hydropower to a cyclist who adjusts effort to keep a tandem bicycle balanced – symbolizing how hydropower adapts power output to maintain grid stability. “Just as cyclists adjust their effort to keep a tandem bicycle at the right speed, hydropower plants help adjust power generation in response to the changing demand for electricity,” the video states.
Key points addressed in the video include:
- Flexibility: Hydropower can respond quickly to fluctuations in demand, helping to balance the grid.
- Energy storage: Pumped storage hydropower systems store surplus energy for use during peak demand, functioning similarly to large-scale batteries.
- Additional services: Beyond electricity generation, hydropower also contributes to water supply, flood control, irrigation, and industrial use.
The video emphasizes that with increasing reliance on variable renewables such as wind and solar, the grid requires more support from flexible and stable sources like hydropower.
ETIP HYDROPOWER continues to implement its Research and Innovation Agenda (RIA) and Strategic Industry Roadmap (SIR), which outline strategies to address emerging energy system challenges. Through collaboration with stakeholders across industry, academia, and research, the initiative aims to reinforce hydropower’s contribution to achieving climate neutrality and a sustainable energy future.
Working Group 1 focuses specifically on the evolving role of hydropower in system flexibility and storage, and its operational and innovation implications.
