Using mining facilities/network for storage of renewable energies

On 30 November 2011 two hundred well known representatives from politics, industry and science discussed the energy industry of the 21st Century and the associated opportunities for the Ruhr area. The event was organized by the Mercator Foundation and the Research Unit "underground pumped storage plants" of the University of Duisburg-Essen, the Ruhr-University Bochum respectively the University Alliance Metropolis Ruhr (UAMR) , in cooperation with the Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKULNV) as well as the RAG AG (RAG stands for a german coal mining corporation "Ruhrkohle AG").

During the event, experts from different disciplines discussed the applicability of underground pumped storage plants for storing renewable energies as well as alternative storage technologies, expansion possibilities of typical pumped storage plants and forecasts of future electricity supply and demand. Various aspects of the project regarding the opportunities for the Ruhr area were discussed and initially assessed.

Undoubtedly the use of mining facilities as pumped storage plants in the Ruhr area is an attractive and sustainable alternative for the future mining landscape. Furthermore it is a possible solution for the problems of storing renewable energy.

The next steps of the research group, together with the RAG AG, will be to confirm the feasibility of the project and develop a concept for a pilot plant. Apart from the technical aspects, the energy and legal sector as well as the ecosystem impacts are been considered within this feasibility stage.