“Unlocking the Potential: Energy Storage in Abandoned U.P. Mines – A Promising Industry on the Rise” 

NEGAUNEE, MI – Michigan’s Upper Peninsula may be primed for a major hydroelectric future because of its underground mining past.Scientists at Michigan Technological University in Houghton believe it may be possible for hundreds of abandoned mines scattered across the U.P. to be transformed into pumped water storage facilities – a type of renewable, hydroelectric power generators.City officials in Negaunee hope their hometown mine, the Mather B, may be the first of what could become a valuable new economic sector for U.P. communities. They already participated in a mine mapping project to propel research of the technology.“Upper Peninsula-wide there are numerous underground mines that could possibly utilize that pumped storage hydro technology and that would provide more energy security for the Upper Peninsula and possibly lower prices for energy up here in the U.P.,” said David Nelson, Negaunee city planner. “Our energy costs up here are some of the highest in the nation.”Pumped underground storage hydropower systems work by moving water between reservoirs at different elevations, so electricity can be generated as water moves down through a generator turbine. The systems are designed to work much like batteries to store energy – just smaller versions of the Ludington Pumped Storage Power Plant on Lake Michigan.When energy is plentiful, water is pumped from a lower level to a higher, storing its potential energy. When energy is in demand, the water is released to flow back down to the lower level, turning electricity-generating turbines as it flows.Michigan Technological UniversityThe idea is to retrofit old mining shafts to create fully contained underground water reservoirs at different depths. During low customer demand periods, electricity from the power grid could be used to pump water into the upper reservoir, whether it comes from renewable, nuclear or other sources.Then during peak energy demand times, the water could be released back down through underground turbines to generate a type of hydroelectricity.Scientists suggest Michigan may be well positioned to offer this energy storage concept to smooth out the peaks and valleys of supply and demand on the broader electric transmission and distribution grids.“Because of the concentration of mining in the southern Lake Superior region – Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan – that whole area stands in a really interesting location between the Great Plains to the north and west, and the Great Lakes and the population centers to the south, where you can be generating and moderating the flows of power on a regional grid very effectively,” said Timothy Scarlett, associate professor at MTU.Abundant renewable wind energy from the Plains could be imported into the Great Lakes and stored in pumped water systems in old mines, then released onto the grid when needed.Scarlett further argued that building renewable energy infrastructure in brownfield spaces, like the old copper mine