Photo courtesy Lombardi.
Consulting engineering firm BBA has entered a strategic alliance with Lombardi, an international company that specializes in hydraulics and transportation infrastructure. The two firms are set to collaborate on pumped-storage hydropower projects for Canadian clients.
BBA reports no new pumped-storage hydropower plants have been built in North America in more than 40 years, but there has been a significant resurgence of interest in the technology for its effective use of large quantities of renewable energy, such as wind and solar, by acting as massive batteries.
These facilities compensate for the intermittency of weather-dependent renewable energy sources by pumping water uphill into a reservoir during periods of surplus energy, then reversing the circuit by releasing the water through turbines to generate power when energy production falls or demand surges.
“Pumped-storage hydropower is a proven technology that needs to be part of Canada’s energy mix if we truly want to decarbonize our economy,” says François Vitez, BBA’s director of renewable energy.
Lombardi has developed such facilities in Europe and other markets. Currently, it is involved in the construction of Snowy 2.0, a 2,000-MW (installed capacity) plant in Australia.
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