Spatially resolved modeling of pumped storage and hydropower for China's carbon neutrality

Dec 22, 2025·
Ziheng Zhu
,
Hanjie Mao
,
Shuo Zhang
,
Xiaogang He
,
Da Zhang
· 1 min read
Abstract
China’s carbon neutrality goal requires large-scale integration of variable renewable energy, creating new flexibility requirements for the power system. This study uses spatially and temporally resolved modeling to co-optimize capacity expansion and system operation for hybrid wind-solar-hydropower systems. It quantifies the value of open-loop and closed-loop pumped hydro storage, cascaded hydropower operations, market arbitrage, and multi-year climate robustness for a deeply decarbonized Chinese power system.
Type
Publication
Energy & Environmental Science 2026, 19, 906-925

This paper extends CISPO with reservoir-level pumped-storage and hydropower representations to evaluate flexibility, market value, and system resilience under high renewable penetration.

First page of the Energy & Environmental Science hydropower paper
Figure 1: EES paper.
CISPO China Hydropower Pumped Storage Power System