Presented at the HYDRO HYBRIDIZATION 2026 conference in Porto, Portugal on July 1st, 2026
Hydropeaking Mitigation through Hybridization with Batteries – Challenges & Opportunities
Authors : Frederic M. Evers, Tristan Touzeau, David Notzon, Gruner Stucky Ltd, Switzerland
Hydropeaking is an operational feature of storage hydropower plants and results from flexible generation to balance variable demand as well as increasing shares of wind and solar power production. However, rapid changes in turbine discharge cause pronounced short-term fluctuations in downstream rivers, potentially leading to ecological degradation and conflicts with environmental regulations.
Operational constraints as a mitigation measure against hydropeaking directly affect flexibility as the added value of storage hydropower. Therefore, compensation basins are commonly used to buffer turbine discharge before releasing it in a controlled manner. However, the size of compensation basins is subject to spatial limitations which may need to be overcome by costly underground structures or pumping. In addition, compensation basins are single-purpose structures and likely to be operated at a low utilization level over long periods.
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) offer a complementary solution to conventional mitigation measures. By storing and discharging electric energy instead of water, BESS allow to decouple instantaneous flexible electricity provision from pronounced flow fluctuations. This creates opportunities to smooth turbine operation, reduce ramping rates, dampen water-level and discharge variations in rivers without compromising system flexibility and hence market revenues, as well as tap additional revenue streams. Moreover, further hybridization with solar and wind allows for additionally increasing security of supply and self-sufficiency of energy communities.
Despite these opportunities, several challenges impact deployment at a larger scale. High investment costs, limited battery lifetimes under intensive cycling, and uncertainties regarding revenue stacking across additional applications including, e.g., capacity payments, ancillary services, and energy arbitrage remain key barriers. Regulatory frameworks need to recognize and compensate environmental benefits.
Realizing the full potential of BESS to mitigate hydropeaking requires techno-economic optimization and integrated, multi-disciplinary planning that jointly address energy system flexibility and river ecosystem protection.
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