Benchmarking small-scale pumped hydro schemes that have potential for flood management benefits

Flood risk is increasing due to climate change and small rural communities are increasingly impacted. Constrained governmental budgets lead to inadequate funding for smaller communities leaving them at ever-increasing risk. Integrating small scale pumped hydro into new fluvial flood attenuation provides an opportunity to generate revenue from the purchase and sale of electricity. This revenue may provide the necessary funding to enable a flood risk management scheme to progress. A review of literature found no existing methodology for combined assessment of flood risk and energy storage assets. Therefore, a bespoke methodology was developed to evaluate proposals at a community in Dawlish, Devon, UK. Key parameters from flood risk management and energy power generation were collated into a methodology for testing using river flow data from the study site. Key performance indicators were generated for a range of configurations. Initial results suggested an installation could provide modest positive economic returns whilst delivering desired flood risk benefits. Further work is recommended to refine the methodology, test sensitivity and establish the range of sites where this technique may be adopted.