Pumped storage |
Above: The 500MW Porabka Zar is Poland’s second largest pumped storage power plant
visual impact, is expected to come online in 2027
Above: Ignitis Gamyba Head of Production, Darius Kucinas, and Rimgaudas Kalvaitis, CEO of Ignitis Gamyba, are pictured with Reinhold Schneider, Managing Director of Voith Hydro in St. Pölten, and regional sales representative, Hubert Geissberger, during a contract signing in Lithuania
Below: View of the upper and lower reservoir at Kruonis Pumped Storage Power Station in Lithuania
with an energy storage capacity of 3.5GWh. Pascal Radue, GE Hydro Solutions President and CEO, said: “As renewable energy generation from wind and solar is increasing in the Gran Canaria Island, this pumped storage project will help balance the grid by dispatching the energy when needed, still with renewable energy. Hydropower is the largest source of energy storage that exists right now and represents 95% of all energy stored today. Using water from the sea also demonstrates that with ingenuity, hydropower can reach new heights.” GE Hydro Solutions is also set to replace the 4x125MW pumped turbines and generators of the Porabka Zar pumped hydro storage plant in Poland. With an installed capacity of 500MW, Porabka Zar is the country’s second largest pumped storage power plant and plays a significant role in power generation, providing important ancillary services to the Polish electricity system. “This rehabilitation project is the first large-scale
rehabilitation project of its kind in Poland in 40 years. We are delighted to be part of it and support PGE Odnawialna in this upgrade process,” Radue said. “This demonstrates that Poland makes every effort to achieve the Net Zero goal by 2050. This new equipment will help increase the flexibility and reliability of the plant and consequently stabilize the grid in the country.” A special feature of this project involves replacing
the existing stay rings and vanes with new ones especially designed for Porabka Zar. Due to the
confined workspace, the technology used, and the cutting and welding processes, will be specific to this project. Commercial operation is expected at the beginning of 2028.
Transformations To reduce its dependence on energy imports,
Lithuania is aiming to systematically expand its renewable energy sources, especially solar and wind power, and to offset the volatility of these energy sources, Ignitis Gamyba is investing around €150 million in the expansion of the Kruonis pumped storage hydropower facility. Here an additional fifth, highly flexible 110MW pump turbine unit and motor- generator unit will be installed by Voith Hydro and is expected to swing into operation by the end of 2026. Meanwhile, over in Germany, EnBW Energie Baden-
Württemberg is undertaking the conversion and expansion of the 71MW Rudolf Fettweis hydropower plant in the northern Black Forest. Over the next few years, the existing conventional storage power plant will be modernised and turned into the Forbach high- capacity pumped storage power plant. Construction at this €280 million project will start this autumn at the earliest, with completion expected by the end of 2027. EnBW is focused on the accelerated expansion of
renewables and achieving climate neutrality by 2035, and requires additional dispatchable capacity and storage reservoirs that can quickly deliver electricity on demand and ensure stable grid operation. Following an extensive planning approval process led by the regional authorities in Karlsruhe, this complex project successfully obtained approval on 1 March 2023. As the Mayor of Forbach Robert Stiebler said, hydropower has a long history in the region and securing its future there is a great signal as it embraces the energy transition. The existing Rudolf Fettweis hydropower plant was built between 1914-26 and comprises the 14Mm3 capacity Schwarzenbach dam, and the Forbach and Kirschbaumwasen impoundments. Water is channelled via tunnels and pressure pipes downhill to the Rudolf Fettweis hydropower plant. At the heart of the new plant, a powerhouse will be
integrated into the hillside to accommodate a pump turbine for the Schwarzenbach power plant, capable of generating approximately 54MW in turbine mode and 57MW in pump mode. During construction, the existing Forbach equalisation basin will also be expanded with the addition of a cavern water
18 | July 2023 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
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