The right project for the right system: holistic planning for the best options

The need for pumped storage is driven by the rapid expansion of variable renewables, which requires energy storage and grid reliability services. Wind and solar will grow to 70% of the energy mix, while fossil fuel capacity will need to reduce at a rate of 100GW per year.

This session will explore PSH’s critical role in enabling the energy transition and help us understand how governments and system operators approach the process of planning the power systems of the future.

Session objectives

• Understand how governments and system operators approach the process of planning the power systems of the future, as the world transitions to the post-fossil fuel era.
• Set out the challenges for system planning, and where there is uncertainty as to what systems will need in the medium to long term.
• How new demands (e.g. data centres, electrification of transport) are transforming the understanding of future power grids.
• How can policy-makers and planners send the right signals to market participants that result in developers investing the resources required for new PSH projects.