The Salina Pumped Storage Project is a

pumped-storage Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential ...

power station near Salina,

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. It is owned and operated by the

Grand River Dam Authority The Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) is an agency of the state of Oklahomcreated to control, develop, and maintain the Grand River (Oklahoma), Grand River waterway. It was created by the Oklahoma state legislature in 1935, and is headquartered in ...

(GRDA). Its construction was in response to growing power demands and a lack of dam sites on the Grand River. The first phase was completed in 1968 and the second in 1971. The upper reservoir for the power station is

Lake W. R. Holway Lake W. R. Holway, or Chimney Rock Lake is a reservoir in Mayes County, Oklahoma on the Saline Creek arm of Lake Hudson (Oklahoma). It was created in 1968 by the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) as an integral part of the Salina Pumped Storage Proj ...

which was built on Saline Creek and the lower reservoir is Lake Hudson on the Grand River. During periods of lower power demand, water is pumped from Lake Hudson to Lake Holway and released back down through the pump-generators during periods of high energy demand.Wagman, David. ''Power Engineering''. "Salina Pumped Storage Project." May 1, 2006. Retrieved September 17, 201

/ref>

Design philosophy

The process essentially consists of pumping water from a lower elevation into a containment at a higher elevation. In this step, the mechanical device used to move the water acts like a conventional

pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they u ...

to lift the water. External power, in this case an electric motor, supplies the needed energy. Later, the external power is switched off and water flows backward through the device, enabling it to function as a

hydraulic turbine A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts kinetic energy and potential energy of water into mechanical work. Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now, th ...

generating energy to drive an electric power generator. Ideally, the power generated would offset the power consumed in elevating the water. In practice, there are inefficiencies in the system that cause the power consumed raising the water to significantly exceed the energy generated during the reversal of water flow. GRDA has stated that pumping water from Lake Hudson (the source) into

(the receiver) consumes nearly twice the power that can be recovered from the hydraulic generator. The real benefit from the process is that the owner can use power for pumping when overall power demand from customers is lower, and supply electric power when customer demand is higher. It is an effective way to provide peaking power because the system can be brought on line (or taken off line) very quickly.

Construction

The project was constructed in two stages: :Stage 1 consisted of building an earth and rock filled dam in Chimney Rock Hollow high, creating Chimney Rock Reservoir. A canal long led from the dam to a forebay structure that had openings for steel

penstocks 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. Hyd ...

, each in diameter. Three penstocks led from the forebay to a powerhouse that housed three horsepower pump-generators, with a total rated capacity of . This stage was completed in 1968. :Stage 2 comprised building three more penstocks, extending the powerhouse and adding three more pump-generators, all identical to those installed in Stage 1. This doubled the facility's capacity to 260 mw. It was completed in 1971.GRDA. Salina Pumped-Storage Project
/ref> The SPSP is controlled remotely from the GRDA Energy Control Center at the Robert S. Kerr Dam, which created Lake Hudson. Glenn Roberson, "Grand River Dam Authority." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''
/ref> In 1981, Chimney Rock Reservoir was renamed Lake W. R. Holway, in honor of a noted consulting engineer who had been responsible for engineering several important projects in Oklahoma, including the SPSP.''The Grove Observer'', "Grand Lake to be Lowered to Elevation 738." January 6, 2006. Retrieved September 24, 201

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Effects of drought on operation

Severe drought in 2005 greatly reduced runoff in the entire Grand River watershed. This caused levels of the reservoirs along the river to fall. In particular, the water level of Lake Hudson dropped to by January 2006. The SPSP agreement with the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in ...

(FERC) requires that Lake Hudson elevation be a minimum of in order to pump water into Lake W. R. Holway. This required GRDA to lower Grand Lake by .

References

{{stack, {{Portal, Oklahoma, Water, Renewable energy Energy infrastructure completed in 1968 Energy infrastructure completed in 1971 Buildings and structures in Mayes County, Oklahoma Pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in the United States Hydroelectric power plants in Oklahoma