Pumped 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 884 MW, with an average annual generation of about 1,300 GWh

Pumped storage power plant group

Pumped storage hydropower group

The Pumped storage power plant group (PSW) operates five pumped storage power plants with a capacity of 884 megawatts. With an annual generating capacity of around 1.3 billion kilowatt hours, the PSWs make an important contribution to the security of supply. The power plant group also includes three storage power plants and one run-of-river power plant, both owned and operated, with a total capacity of 93 megawatts, which generate 54 gigawatt hours of climate-friendly electricity per year and save over 31,000 tons of CO2.

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Waldeck

Overview of the power plants within the Pumped storage hydropower group

Our PSWs store surplus electricity in the form of positional energy by pumping water from a reservoir to higher ground. When needed, the water is released from the upper reservoir to drive turbines located lower down, thereby converting the potential energy of the water back into electricity. With an overall efficiency of up to 80 percent, pumped storage technology is currently not only the only way to store large amounts of energy effectively and permanently, but also the most environmentally friendly.

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overview of the pump storage power plant group locations

In addition to storing surplus electrical energy, PSWs are of crucial importance for grid stability due to their rapid availability and controllability. They are an important prerequisite for the integration of renewable power generation from wind and photovoltaic plants, which cannot be regulated. In addition to balancing grid fluctuations, frequency and voltage regulation, the PSW are also available for grid reconstruction or black start after a "blackout".

The Langenprozelten pumped storage power plant is the only pumped storage power plant in Deutsche Bahn's power grid and thus plays an important role in grid stability and power supply for traction current.

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Waldeck Oberbecken

Facts

Location

Total installed capacity

Average annual generation

Eder, Diemel, Main, Sinn, Happach, and Rusel, Germany

807 MW

1,300 GWh

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Waldeck Oberbecken

Valuable peak-load electricity from hydropower

Waldeck

At the touch of a button, pumped storage power plants can step in within seconds during peak loads—for example, when wind power plants are unable to feed electricity into the grid due to calm winds. Pumped storage power plants are highly flexible, cost-efficient, and environmentally friendly, and are currently the best storage option available.

Pumped storage power plants are key assets for the energy transition

With their storage capacity and flexibility, pumped storage power plants enable the integration of electricity from photovoltaic and wind power plants, which naturally fluctuates. They are also important for grid stability.

Documents 

(German only)

Kraftwerksgruppe Pumpspeicher der Uniper Wasserkraft.pdf
PDF - 4.37 MB

 

More about project rehabilitation PSW Happurg

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…