CANBERRA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Australia is home to more than 22,000 sites suitable for pumped hydroelectricity storage, a study has found.
Andrews Blakers, an engineering expert from the Australian National University (ANU), on Thursday released an analysis of Australia's capacity to support a 100 percent renewable electricity grid.
He found more than 22,000 sites which could support pumped-storage hydroelectricity with a total potential storage capacity of 67,000 Gigawatt hours (GWh).
"Australia needs only a tiny fraction of these sites for pumped hydro storage - about 450 GWh of storage - to support a 100 percent renewable electricity system," Blakers said in a media release on Thursday.
"Fast tracking the development of a few of the best sites by 2022 could balance the grid when Liddell and other coal power stations close."
Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has previously flagged expanding the Snowy Mountains hydroelectricity scheme, Australia's largest infrastructure project, to improve its storage capacity.
