NEGAUNEE, MI-- The City of Negaunee is partnering with Michigan Tech to explore using abandoned mines to store electrical energy.
The pilot study would determine if abandoned mines can be profitably converted into utility-scale batteries, storing “green” energy for consumers on the electrical grid. The project would use underground pumped hydro storage—a technology that stores water at a high elevation, then allows it to flow down through a turbine to generate electricity.
The storage facility would use surplus power generated during low-demand times to pump water up to a certain elevation. When demand outpaces power supply the water would be released into the turbines.
Officials say placing the system underground—in deep, abandoned mines—could be revolutionary. Researchers say water could be pumped from the flooded levels of the mines to higher, dry ones, using old stopes and shafts as water tanks. They say the system would essentially be invisible.
The study is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.