Techno-Economic Evaluation of a 600MW Pumped Storage Hydropower Plant using the Pumped Storage Hydropower Valuation Tool

Bhattacharyya, Arjun [ORNL] (ORCID:0009000609760462); Itiki, Rodney [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000271507584); Mukherjee, Srijib [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000228918177)

doi:10.1109/repc71040.2026.00014

DOE OSTI · 3682461

Techno-Economic Evaluation of a 600MW Pumped Storage Hydropower Plant using the Pumped Storage Hydropower Valuation Tool

Bhattacharyya, Arjun [ORNL] (ORCID:0009000609760462)·Itiki, Rodney [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000271507584)·Mukherjee, Srijib [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000228918177)

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Abstract

This paper presents a techno-economic evaluation of the proposed 600 MW, 8-hour Craig – Hayden pumped storage hydropower project using the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pumped Storage Hydropower Valuation Tool. The analysis integrates plant technical characteristics, regional grid conditions, and market-based operating assumptions to quantify stacked value streams from energy arbitrage, capacity, ancillary services, transmission congestion relief, and reliability. Both price taker and price influencer frameworks are applied to examine the impact of market participation and system interactions on lifecycle economic performance using Benefit - Cost Analysis and Multi - Criteria Decision Analysis. The results show that the price taker approach provides higher revenue estimates based on exogenous price signals, while the price influencer approach captures production cost savings, renewable curtailment reduction, and market price formation, yielding more conservative but system-representative outcomes. The study demonstrates the strategic value of long-duration PSH for enhancing operational flexibility, resource adequacy, and grid reliability in a high-renewable Western Interconnection.

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Bhattacharyya, Arjun [ORNL] (ORCID:0009000609760462), Itiki, Rodney [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000271507584), Mukherjee, Srijib [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000228918177). 2026-04-01. Techno-Economic Evaluation of a 600MW Pumped Storage Hydropower Plant using the Pumped Storage Hydropower Valuation Tool. https://doi.org/10.1109/repc71040.2026.00014

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