First of its kind ‘high-density’ hydro system begins generating electricity in Devon

Project employs technology that can be used to store and release renewable energy using even gentle slopes

A hillside “battery” outside Plymouth in Devon has begun generating electricity using a first of a kind hydropower system embedded underground.

The pioneering technology means one of the oldest forms of energy storage, hydropower, can be used to store and release renewable energy using even gentle slopes rather than the steep dam walls and mountains that are usually required.

The design means the principles of hydropower could be used as a form of “long duration energy storage” in many more locations across the UK, and the world, than traditional hydropower dams. The projects could be quicker and cheaper to build too.

Engineers at RheEnergise built the project to mimic the UK’s traditional hydropower plants, which have powered the grid for decades by using electricity to pump water uphill when power supplies are abundant, and later releasing the water back down through turbines to generate electricity when supplies are short.