Recently, the term "pumped-storage hydropower" is actually and appropriately discussed in the context of which one of the following?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) Long duration energy storage
Pumped-storage hydropower is a way of storing electricity, not of watering crops. When power is cheap or surplus (for example sunny afternoons with lots of solar), water is pumped from a lower reservoir to an upper one; when demand peaks, it is released back down through turbines. It can hold energy for many hours, which is why it is discussed as long-duration storage for a grid with more solar and wind.
- ✓ (c) Two reservoirs at different heights work like a giant rechargeable battery; pumped storage is the dominant form of grid-scale energy storage worldwide.
- ✗ (b) Lift irrigation also pumps water uphill, but only to deliver it to fields; nothing flows back through turbines to generate electricity.
- ✗ (d) Rainwater harvesting collects and stores rainwater for use or groundwater recharge; it has no power-generation or storage role.
Remember · Pumped-storage hydro = pump water up with surplus power, release it through turbines at peak demand. The biggest grid-scale storage technology; key for integrating solar and wind.
Sources
- US Department of Energy, Water Power Technologies Office: Pumped Storage Hydropower ↗ “It is a configuration of two water reservoirs at different elevations that can generate power as water moves down from one to the other (discharge), passing through a turbine. The system also requires power as it pumps water back into the upper reservoir (recharge). … Pumped storage hydropower is the most dominant form of energy storage on the electric grid today. It also plays an important role in bringing more renewable resources onto the grid.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·