Goldisthal pumped storage plant

Goldisthal pumped storage power plant
	Outlet structure and energy dissipation portal
	location
	Thuringia , Germany
Coordinates	50 ° 30 '29 " N , 11 ° 1' 33" E Coordinates: 50 ° 30 '29 " N , 11 ° 1' 33" E
country	Germany
Waters	Schwarza (Saale)
	Data
Type	pumped storage power plant
Primary energy	water
power	1,060 MW
operator	Vattenfall
Project start	1975/1991
Start of operations	2003
turbine	4 Francis pump turbines , 2 each with synchronous and asynchronous machines
Website	http://www.vattenfall.de/
was standing	2011

The pumped storage power plant (PSP) Goldisthal in the Thuringian Slate Mountains on the upper reaches of the Schwarza between Goldisthal and Scheibe-Alsbach was put into operation in 2003 and, with an output of 1060 MW, is the largest hydropower plant in Germany and one of the largest in Europe.

history

In 1965 the first considerations in the GDR for the construction of a pumped storage power plant at this location became known. In 1975, the engineering geological exploration and the first measures to prepare for construction began. Over 2 km² of forest were cleared and an access road was built. In the years that followed, extensive earthworks and rock works followed. In 1980/1981 the major project was stopped due to lack of money. In 1988 the GDR government decided to resume building preparations and thus to continue the project. After reunification , the United Energiewerke AG (VEAG) examined the project for its profitability in 1991 and came to a positive result. As a result, the planning was pushed forward again and the plan approval procedure was opened in 1993 .

The plans for the construction of this power plant were very controversial and led to widespread resistance, in particular from environmental protection groups , namely BUND and Grüner Liga , who decided not only because of the landscape and ecological intervention (the area affected was, among other things, a habitat for capercaillies, which are threatened with extinction ) , but also heavily criticized as “energy guzzlers”.

In 1995 the building was put out to tender across the EU . In 1996, BUND Thuringia filed a lawsuit against the building with the Weimar Administrative Court. The legal dispute between VEAG and BUND was settled in 1997 because on the one hand the hopelessness of the lawsuit quickly became clear and on the other hand VEAG was interested in a speedy procedure and therefore sought an out-of-court settlement. With the negotiated settlement sum of 7 million DM (approx. 3.58 million euros ), the BUND called in 1998 after the withdrawal of the lawsuit, the NATURstiftung David , an environmental foundation "to promote projects for nature conservation and regenerative energies in the new federal states" , into life.

Construction work began in 1997. In 2003 the power plant started operating and on September 30, 2003 the power plant officially opened. All four machine sets have been in continuous operation since 2004. The construction costs amounted to 623 million euros. The PSW Goldisthal is operated today by the energy group Vattenfall GmbH .

The attachment

Cross-section through a pump turbine set at the Goldisthal pumped storage plant . One of the two sets with a synchronous machine is shown

The artificially created, bypassable upper basin is located at an altitude of about 880 m above sea level. NHN on the Moosbergebene at the Großer Farmdenkopf and has a usable volume of around 12 million m³ of water over an area of 0.55 km². The mountain top was removed to create this basin. This amount of water is sufficient for eight hours of full-load turbine operation. Given the height difference between the storage basin and the turbines, this corresponds to a maximum storable amount of electrical energy of 8.5 GWh . The upper basin with the pump turbines is located in a large machine cavern (length: 137 m, width: 26 m, height: 49 m), through two 800 m long pressurized water tunnels, which are inclined by 25 degrees to the horizontal underground cavity several hundred meters deep in the mountain. The difference in altitude is just under 350 m. In addition to the machine cavern, there is a transformer cavern (length: 122 m, width: 15 m, height: 17 m).

After the turbine has flowed through, the water is drained through pipes into the Goldisthal lower basin , where it flows back in more than 20 m below the water level. This basin created by a dam holds about 18.9 million m³ and is located at an altitude of about 550 m above sea level. NHN . This means that the nominal delivery head when pumping up the water is a good 300 meters. The lower basin is formed by the damming of the Schwarza by a 67 m high dam about 500 m above the village of Goldisthal. The Schwarza reservoir also fulfills certain flood protection functions, which, however, are rather minor due to the small catchment area of the Schwarza. The lower basin has a pre-dam called the Gräftiegelsperre , which holds 0.7 million m³ of water and compensates for the fluctuations in height of the lower basin from the previous river.

As a special feature, Goldisthal has the first speed-controlled pumped storage unit in Europe . Of the total of four pump turbines , two work with variable (asynchronous) and two with constant (synchronous) speed . Such combined machine sets, which can flexibly and continuously adapt their performance to the requirements both in turbine operation for energy generation and in pump operation for energy supply and thus operated with optimal efficiency, were previously only put into operation in Japan .

The grid connection takes place at the 380 kV maximum voltage level via the newly built Altenfeld switchgear in the 50Hertz Transmission grid .

Geocoordinates of the basins

Upper basin: 50 ° 30 ′ 35 ″ N , 11 ° 1 ′ 50 ″ E50.509722222222 11.030555555556
Lower basin: 50 ° 30 ′ 35 ″ N , 11 ° 0 ′ 12.4 ″ E50.509713888889 11.003430555556
Pre-lock grip crucible lock: 50 ° 29 ′ 34 ″ N , 11 ° 1 ′ 15 ″ E50.492777777778 11.020833333333

tourism

The wooded area surrounding the Goldisthal power plant is a popular hiking area . The pumped storage power station itself and its two lakes are now a destination for those interested in the energy industry who can use the visitor information center at the power station and the viewing platforms with wide views of the surrounding landscape. However, due to the high demand, tours have to be registered well in advance in writing. In the last few years 6,000–7,000 visitors per year have been taken to the underground facilities.

Any recreational or water sports use of the two artificial lakes is prohibited for safety reasons, as the water level can fluctuate by several meters while the power plant is in operation and strong currents and eddies arise. A lease agreement has been signed with the local fishing club for sport fishing, from which more information can be obtained. A hiking trail laid out by the community allows you to completely circumnavigate the lower basin in close proximity to the water over a length of approx. 10 km. For security reasons, the upper pool is completely fenced. People who accidentally slide down the smooth, 50 ° asphalt border, could no longer get up without outside help. The only two exit options are the access ramp and a railing at the inlet structure . However, depending on the site of the accident, these can be up to 900 m away. Since the water is very cold even in summer, this distance can usually no longer be covered by swimming.

architectural art

For the design of the machine cavern, Vattenfall chose the design by the artists Desur aka Danny Doom, Ben Dressel and DAIM (Mirko Reisser) after a competition was announced . The design of the machine cavern of the pumped storage plant shows the process of energy generation in graphic form. Inspired by the symbiosis of nature and technology of the power plant, the design reflects the function by showing the invisible transformation of water into usable electricity. As a result of this project, two windows were created in the machine cavern, which give the visitor an unusual insight into the process behind the stone and steel backdrop.

gallery

Dam of the lower basin
Lower basin
Dam and drain above Goldisthal
“The Transformation” Artists: Daim (Mirko Reisser), Desur (Ben Dressel) Art in architecture