Equipment | Equipping pumped storage
IWP&DC provides an update on equipment being supplied and installed at a number of new pumped storage projects across the world
Above: The planning process has started to expand Cruachan pumped storage project in Scotland
PUMPED STORAGE HYDROPOWER IS recognised as an essential component of a decarbonised, reliable electricity grid, with more projects needed if countries across the globe want to take the next step forward in their journey to a net zero economy. A number of new projects are currently being constructed to help meet energy storage demands. In Austria, Verbund Hydro Power is building the new Limberg III pumped storage power plant. The plant is part of the Kaprun power plant group, one of Europe’s highest hydropower plant’s. Following planned commissioning in 2025, the plant is expected to generate up to 480MW of clean electricity, thereby making an important contribution to grid stability in Austria. Industrial services provider Bilfinger is supporting
Verbund with the construction of the new plant, and has been contracted to deliver and assume responsibility for all work on the pressure piping and draft tube gates as part of an order valued at more than €20 million. “Hydropower is an important growth area for Bilfinger,” commented Christina Johansson, Bilfinger’s interim CEO and CFO. “In the context of the energy transition, demand for construction and modernization services for hydropower plants is increasing. With our full-service solutions from a single source, we guarantee the fast and efficient implementation of projects to expand this important source of renewable energy. Our decades of experience and our extensive pool of experts allow us to support energy industry customers on their path to a low-emission and climate-friendly future.” “High-performance pumped storage power plants such as Limberg III are crucial for the success of the energy turnaround: our new power unit ensures that electricity can be temporarily and in a highly efficiently stored in times of surplus and flexibly fed back into the electricity system within a very short time when required. With such plants, we can contribute to a sustainable electricity supply in Austria in the long term,” added Karl Heinz Gruber, Managing Director of Verbund Hydro Power GmbH. A team from Bilfinger Industrial Services Austria is
responsible for the engineering, manufacture, delivery, assembly and commissioning of the pressure piping for the new pumped storage power plant. In the future, these will secure the underground connection of the two high mountain reservoirs Mooserboden (2036m) and Wasserfallboden (1680m). Assembly of the piping in the pressure shaft presents the Bilfinger team with a particular challenge: due to the tight scheduling, it is not possible to first transport the individual pipe sections up the mountain from where they are roped down into the pressure shaft and only then welded together, which is the usual procedure. To save time, the 35 pipes, each weighing 45 tons, will instead be hoisted from the valley floor through the 585m-long and 42-degree-inclined pressure shaft, temporarily stored and welded directly
10 | April 2022 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
at the same time as the other work in 48-hour shifts - a first in assembly technique. In addition to the pressure piping, Bilfinger is also designing, manufacturing and assembling the draft tube gates for the new hydropower plant, each of which is 5m wide and 1.7m high, regulating the flow in the water distribution system through controlled opening and closing. Verbund decided to renew its partnership with the industrial services provider following the successful cooperation on its sister power plant . At that plant, Bilfinger was also responsible for the manufacture, delivery and assembly of the piping systems.
Snowy 2.0 in Australia Another major pumped storage project in
development is Snowy 2.0 in Australia, which, with its 2000MW of pumping and generating capacity and 350,000 MWh of storage, will underpin thousands of megawatts of intermittent renewables. Back in December 2021, the project celebrated its inaugural tunnelling milestone. The project’s first tunnel boring machine (TBM), the Lady Eileen Hudson, passed the one kilometre mark of the 2.6km main access tunnel, which leads to the site of the underground power station cavern. Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said Snowy 2.0 is going from strength to strength. “Reaching this critical milestone brings Snowy 2.0 closer to delivering 2,000 megawatts of fast-start, dispatchable energy needed to make our grid secure and keep pressure on power prices for Australian families and businesses,” he said. “Snowy 2.0 will store the excess energy from Australia’s world-leading levels of household solar and use that energy when the sun goes down, enough to power the equivalent of 500,000 homes for over a week during peak demand. “The project is providing a major job and economic boom for the Snowy region, building on the great legacy of the Snowy Scheme, a national icon.” Snowy Hydro Managing Director and CEO Paul
Broad said the tunnelling achievement highlighted the Snowy 2.0 project’s outstanding construction progress: “It’s an exciting time in the mountains with Snowy 2.0 – this is a megaproject that’s on-budget and due to produce first power in 2025 as planned. “Tunnelling at Lobs Hole is going very well, with about 4,500 concrete segments manufactured locally at our factory in Cooma used to create 500 rings to line the first kilometre of the main access tunnel. In total, around 130,500 segments will be produced for the Snowy 2.0 tunnels. “The progress being made by the project’s growing 1,400-strong workforce is particularly noteworthy given the very difficult scenarios we’ve faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and
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