Abstract
In this paper we take the perspective of a competitive hydropower producer located in Southern Norway, and calculate the profitability of investing in a pumped storage facility in price-scenario for Europe in 2050. A methodology to analyze the combined supply of day-ahead energy and real-time balancing is described and applied. A sequential optimization for optimal supply in each market is applied, utilizing the same resource cost for hydropower. When supplying balancing energy in addition to the supply in the day-ahead market, total income increase by only 2.2%. However, the additional income because of the investment increases by 21%.