[pfdietz]

Pumped hydro doesn't use up the water. It goes back and forth between the lower and the upper reservoirs. Some evaporates, for sure, but that's a tiny fraction of the water that would be evaporated cooling a NPP of the same power output.

[ncmncm]

Furthermore, putting floating solar on the reservoirs would eliminate much of the evaporation.

[chelical]

Sure it doesn't use water, but it's still taking water out of the ecosystem. Why is that not considered when we have record low water levels.

[ncmncm]

And, when it is used for storage, it is at higher altitude, so evaporates less.