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Energy shift creates opening for ‘world’s largest batteries’

Eric Gustad, community affairs manager for Consumers Energy, looks into the upper reservoir of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant on Jan. 31, 2022. The facility near Ludington, Mich., generates electricity by pumping water from Lake Michigan to the upper reservoir atop a bluff, then releasing it through giant turbines as needed. Advocates of pumped storage call such facilities the "world's largest batteries." (AP Photo/John Flesher) This photo taken from a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, shows the lower reservoir of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant on Jan. 31, 2022. The facility near Ludington, Mich., generates electricity by pumping water from Lake Michigan to the upper reservoir atop a bluff, then releasing it through giant turbines as needed. Advocates of pumped storage call such facilities the "world's largest batteries." (AP Photo/John Flesher) This undated photo provided by Consumers Energy shows an aerial view of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant near Ludington, Mich. The plant generates electricity by pumping water from Lake Michigan to a reservoir on top of a bluff, then releasing it through giant turbines as needed. Advocates of pumped storage call such facilities the "world's largest batteries." (AP Photo/Consumers Energy) This undated photo provided by Consumers Energy shows an aerial view of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant near Ludington, Mich. The plant generates electricity by pumping water from Lake Michigan to a reservoir on top of a bluff, then releasing it through giant turbines as needed. Advocates of pumped storage call such facilities the "world's largest batteries." (AP Photo/Consumers Energy) This undated photo provided by Consumers Energy shows an aerial view of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant near Ludington, Mich. The plant generates electricity by pumping water from Lake Michigan to a reservoir on top of a bluff, then releasing it through giant turbines as needed. Advocates of pumped storage call such facilities the "world's largest batteries." (AP Photo/Consumers Energy) There are 43 'Pumped Storage Plants' in the U.S., accounting for 95% of the nation's utility-scale energy storage.