Revived Operation: Reigniting the Power of an Historic Pumped Storage Facility by Uniper
In 2011, the Happurg Pump Storage Power Plant had to be temporarily closed for safety reasons. After a detailed examination, Uniper is now able to reactivate it. The energy provider calls it a "Wild Card for the Energy Revolution".
Uniper is investing roughly 250 million Euro to reactivate the Happurg Pump Storage Power Plant, situated east of Nuremberg. "The company is aiding the Energy Revolution with a significant investment and remains committed to its business strategy of increasing renewable energy production," Uniper declares in a press statement. "The Pump Storage Power Plant stores energy and boosts the power grid's stability in South Germany."
As per Uniper, Happurg is the largest Pump Storage Power Plant in Bavaria. The upper reservoir has a capacity of 1.8 million cubic meters and can store energy for around 850 MWh hours (MWh). The drop from the upper reservoir to the lower one is 209 meters.
Since the power plant's shutdown, the upper reservoir on the Deckersberg has been desolate. The lower reservoir of the power plant system is the Happurger See.
"Wild Card for the Energy Revolution"
The power plant started operating in 1964. In 2011, it was shut down due to some minor damage in the bottom of the upper reservoir for safety reasons. Since then, Uniper confirms that the soil beneath has been inspected and geotechnically assessed. Various methods for cleaning have been tried. Eventually, a technical concept was formulated and refined in a feasibility study, which permits an economical reactivation.
"The responsible administrative authority, the Landratsamt Nuremberg, has approved this concept as part of a planning permission process," Uniper writes. "As part of the entire project, the equipment in the power house will also be restored." Pump Storage Power Plants can be rapidly activated or switched from power generation to energy storage. "With these features, they are wild cards for the Energy Revolution, where it is particularly vital to integrate and balance the uncontrollable and fluctuating generation of wind and solar power plants," Uniper adds.
