The prospect of clean air, less CO2 emissions, reduced water use and at less cost, are pretty compelling arguments in favour of renewable energy and pumped hydro storage.
"A 100 per cent renewables electricity grid supported by pumped hydro energy storage would not only be cheaper than the current coal and gas-based system, but would use a fraction of the Australia’s precious water resource, a leading energy researcher has said.
In a speech delivered to the APVI Asia Pacific Solar Research Conference in Melbourne this week, ANU professor Andrew Blakers said that switching to a grid powered by mostly solar PV and wind, and balanced by pumped hydro would be a water saver, and not a water consumer."
