FARM dams are an invaluable resource providing water for livestock as well as being a source of irrigation for crops, but there is another valuable contribution the humble water hole can make and that’s energy.
Researchers from the University of NSW, Deakin University and the University of Technology Sydney have been looking for ways to utilise the potential of farm dams for the creation of long duration energy storage without fuel dependence.
The team used satellite imagery to create unique agricultural reservoir pairings across Australia from a 2021 dataset of farm dams.
Graph theory algorithms then filtered commercially promising sites based on minimum capacity and slope.
The study was published in Applied Energy, a peer reviewed academic forum journal that covers research on energy and engineering.
It found agricultural reservoirs reduced micro-pumped hydro construction costs.                                                                                                                                        “The transition to low carbon power systems like wind and solar photovoltaics needs cost effective energy storage solutions at all scales,” Dr Nicholas Gilmore, lead author of the study and lecturer at UNSW said.
“We thought, if you’re geographically fortunate to have two significant water volumes separated with sufficient elevation, you might have the potential to have your own hydro energy storage system.”

ENERGY RESEARCH