The Bath County Pumped Storage Station is a

pumped storage Pumping may refer to: * The operation of a pump, for moving a liquid from one location to another **The use of a breast pump for extraction of milk * Pumping (audio), a creative misuse of dynamic range compression * Pumping (computer systems), the ...

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

power plant, which is described as the "largest battery in the world", with a maximum generation capacity of 3,003 MW, an average of 2,772 MW, and a total storage capacity of 24,000 MWh. The station is located in the northern corner of

Bath County, Virginia Bath County is a United States county on the central western border of the Commonwealth of Virginia, on the West Virginia state line. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,209, the second-least populous county in Virginia. Bath's county ...

, on the southeast side of the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly span ...

, which forms this section of the border between Virginia and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. The station consists of two reservoirs separated by about in elevation. It was the largest pumped-storage power station in the world until 2021, when it was surpassed by the

Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station The Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station () is a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station about northwest of Chengde in Fengning Manchu Autonomous County of Hebei Province, China. Construction on the power station began in June 2013 and the fi ...

. Construction on the power station, with an original capacity of , began in March 1977 and was completed in December 1985 at a cost of $1.6 billion,Updating SCADA Systems
''ModComp''. Retrieved: 29 August 2010.

Voith The Voith Group is a German manufacturer of machines for the pulp and paper industry, technical equipment for hydropower plants and drive and braking systems. The family-owned company, which operates worldwide and has its headquarters in Hei ...

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

upgraded the six turbines between 2004 and 2009, increasing power generation to 500.5 MW and pumping power to for each turbine.Refurbishment
''Power Gen'', 21 January 2004. Retrieved: 29 August 2010. Bath County Station is jointly owned by Dominion Generation (60%) and

FirstEnergy FirstEnergy Corp is an electric utility headquartered in Akron, Ohio. It was established when Ohio Edison acquired Centerior Energy in 1997. Its subsidiaries and affiliates are involved in the distribution, transmission, and generation of electri ...

(40%), and managed by Dominion. It stores energy for

PJM Interconnection PJM Interconnection LLC (PJM) is a regional transmission organization (RTO) in the United States. It is part of the Eastern Interconnection grid operating an electric transmission system serving all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentu ...

, a regional transmission organization in 13 states and the District of Columbia.

Design

The upper and lower reservoirs are created by earth and rock-filled

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

s. The upper reservoir dam is high, long and has a structural volume of . The upper reservoir on Little Back Creek has a surface area of and storage capacity of . The lower reservoir dam on Back Creek is high and in length. It has a structural volume of and creates a reservoir with a surface area of and storage capacity of . Connecting the upper reservoir to the power station are three water conduits between long. The conduits each lead to a shaft which bifurcates into two

penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills. H ...

s (for a total of six) before reaching the turbines. Each penstock is in diameter and between in length. Maximum

static pressure In fluid mechanics the term static pressure has several uses: * In the design and operation of aircraft, ''static pressure'' is the air pressure in the aircraft's static pressure system. * In fluid dynamics, many authors use the term ''static pres ...

from the top of the water delivery system to the turbines is .

Method of operation

Water is released from the upper reservoir during periods of high demand and is used to generate electricity. What makes this different from other hydroelectric dams is that during times of low demand, power is taken from

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

, and other power plants and is used to pump water from the lower to the upper reservoir. Although this plant uses more power than it generates, it allows these other plants to operate at close to peak efficiency for an overall cost savings. Back Creek and Little Back Creek, the water sources used to create the reservoirs, have a relatively small flow rate. However, since water is pumped between the reservoirs equally, the only water taken from these creeks now that the reservoirs are full is to replace the water lost to evaporation. During operation, the water level fluctuates by over in the upper reservoir and feet in the lower reservoir. When generating power, the water flow can be as much as per minute (850 m³/s). When storing power, the flow can be as much as per minute (800 m³/s).

Environment

A fishing habitat was created downstream of the facility.Singletary, William C., J
Stream Habitat Improvements
''Water Resources Research Forum'' page 9, 1988. Retrieved: 29 August 2010. In times of drought water quality can be maintainedWatershed quality

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

, 2008. Retrieved: 29 August 2010. by using nearby recreational reservoirs to supply extra water to the creeks.FR Doc 02-9027
''

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...

'', 9 April 2002. Retrieved: 29 August 2010. The creeks and recreational reservoirs have water quality sufficient for fish.Colbert, Judy. ''Virginia Off the Beaten Path, 10th'' 2008, page 174. , Mark Fike. Bugas
Bream Fishing
''Virginia Game & Fish''. Retrieved: 29 August 2010.

References

{{Reflist, 33em

External links

Dominion ResourcesFirstEnergy

Bath County Pumped Storage Station Home Page
Energy infrastructure completed in 1985 Buildings and structures in Bath County, Virginia Hydroelectric power plants in Virginia Pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in the United States Dams in Virginia 1985 establishments in Virginia Earth-filled dams Rock-filled dams Dams completed in 1985

Design

Method of operation

Environment

See also

References

External links