Utility Scale Hydro Pump System and Method

Multiple USHP systems form a USHP farm;

• said USHP farm further comprising:
• a common lower reservoir for a subset of USHP systems;
• use of said common reservoir allows more compact configuration requiring even less land;
• a common upper reservoir for a subset of USHP systems;
• said common upper reservoir could release more water per unit time than an individual system and support the use of a larger scale turbine generator;
• use of said common upper reservoir allows overall smaller upper reservoir capacity than the sum of individual upper reservoirs.

A method of recycling and pumping water for energy storage and predictable and steady energy production, said method comprising steps of:

• a) establishing the initial settings, to which USHP will return to—after completing each cycle of operations, comprising:
• a recycle door is closed;
• a vehicle base is open;
• a water tower is filled with water to the top of a head chamber;
• MLD is lowered and positioned at the bottom of the vehicle;
• said MLD is ready to push the edges of the base;
• b) once these USHP initial settings, as described in step 4-a), are verified using multiple redundant sensors, start the operation by performing and ensuring following sequential tasks, i.e., after each task is completed and verified, the next task is performed automatically:
• 1) close said base separating said lower chamber and said upper chamber and ensure there is no fluid communication between these chambers;
• 2) open said recycle door that connects said lower chamber and said lower reservoir;
• when there is no fluid communication between the lower chamber and the upper chamber, without opening the said recycle door, said vehicle could not be moved;
• while the recycle door remains open, said vehicle base remains closed to prevent drainage or leakage from the upper chamber;
• said lower reservoir continues to maintain its water level higher than the top of said lower chamber;
• 3) use MLD to lift said vehicle with its base closed;
• since said water tower is already filled with water, lifting said vehicle moves water out of the upper chamber and into the upper reservoir through the top of the head chamber;
• 4) water from the lower reservoir fills said void through a recycle door as the void is produced;
• throughout the process, the original water volume, as defined in said initial settings, in said lower chamber does not change;
• the volume of said void comes from the portion of said vehicle no longer in said lower chamber;
• 5) after verifying said lower chamber is filled with water from the lower reservoir, close said recycle door;
• 6) open said base;
• 7) release and disengage said vehicle from MILD to restore said vehicle to the initial settings;
• said MILD is lowered or retracted to allow said vehicle, denser than water, to sink and decompress;
• said MLD could assist the vehicle to recover its form back to the initial settings by pulling it down;
• 8) verify the initial settings are restored, as described in step 4-a) before repeating the operations following steps 4-b-1) to 4-b-7);
• 9) independent of the previous steps from 4-b-1) to 4-b-7), having validated using multiple sensors that there is sufficient water in said upper reservoir, continuously release water from said upper reservoir for energy conversion and power production;
• hydro discharge or exiting water from a turbine generator is collected in the lower reservoir for continuous recycling.