Isar hydropower group

The Isar power plant group comprises run-of-river plants along the rivers Isar, Rißbach, Kesselbach, Loisach and Amper, as well as the storage plant Walchensee/Kochelsee. Its total installed capacity is 364 MW, with an average annual generation of about 1,600 GWh.

 

Isar hydropower group

Isar hydropower group

The Isar power plant group has 26 run-of-river power plants with a capacity of 240 megawatts and the Walchensee storage power plant with 124 megawatts. The average annual electricity generation is 1.6 billion kilowatt hours. This is enough electricity to supply over 500,000 private households. Compared to the current generation mix in Germany, electricity from the Isar‘s hydropower avoids around 900,000 tons of CO2.

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Gottfrieding

Overview of the power plants within the Isar hydropower group

The Isar rises in the Karwendel mountains and flows into the Danube below Deggendorf. It flows through Bavaria over a length of 295 kilometers with a difference in altitude of 637 meters. For Deutsche Bahn, hydropower is an important supplier. A total of four power plants on the Isar supply traction current. This is so-called single-phase alternating current with the frequency of 16.7 hertz, which is only used by the railroads. This electricity is fed into the DB Energie grid.

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Isar overview

As a storage power plant, the Walchensee power plant contributes around 100 million kilowatt hours a year to cover Deutsche Bahn's peak demand. The Aufkirchen, Eitting and Pfrombach power plants on the Mittlere-Isar canal supply around 370 million kilowatt hours of green electricity to Deutsche Bahn. This is enough electricity to drive an ICE train around the world several times.

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Finsing

Location

Total Installed Capacity

Average annual generation

Isar

240 MW

1,600 GWh

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Walchenseekraftwerk

An industrial monument with a highly topical task.

Walchensee power plant

The impressive Walchensee pumped storage power plant is considered the cradle of industrial power generation in Bavaria. Completed in 1924, it was one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in the world at the time, with an output of 124,000 kilowatts (124 megawatts). Even today, with an annual output of around 300 million kilowatt hours (300 gigawatt hours), it is still one of the largest high-pressure storage power plants in Germany. It has been a protected industrial monument since 1983.

Investigation of the Kesselberg tunnel with the submersible Jago

Hydropower and environmental protection – hand in hand

100 years of Walchensee power plant

Documents 

(German only)

Broschüre Kraftwerksgruppe Isar
2021-WEBDATEI - 1.92 MB

Our Hydropower plants

Our hydropower plants in Germany are organised into five power plant groups.

Danube

Danube hydropower group

The hydropower plant group Danube comprises run-of-river plants along the Danube in Germany.

Isar Hydropower Group

Isar hydropower group

The Isar power plant group comprises run-of-river plants along the rivers Isar, Rißbach, Kesselbach, Loisach and Amper, as well as the storage plant Walchensee/Kochelsee.

Lech

Lech hydropower group

Lech hydropower group consists of 22 run-of-river power plants on the River Lech as well as the Roßhaupten storage power plant on Lake Forggen. With a total capacity of around 260 megawatts, they generate around 1.1 billion kilowatt hours of...

Main

Main hydropower group

The hydropower plant group Main comprises 37 run-of-river plants along Main, Germany.

Waldeck Oberbecken

Pump storage hydropower group

The Pumped storage power plant group mainly comprises pumped storage and storage plants along the rivers Eder, Diemel, Main, Sinn, Happach, and Rusel. The plant group's total installed capacity is 807 MW, with an average annual generation of…