Goldisthal Pumped-storage Power Plant
Facts
Country
Germany
Electricity Capacity
1,053 MWe
Stream
Schwarza
Head
302 m
Water discharge
4 x 103.3 m³/s
Turbine type
Francis / Ossberger
Vattenfall ownership share
100 %
Status
In Operation
Goldisthal pumped storage plant has been operating since 2004. It is situated on the Schwarza river in the western Thuringian Slate Mountains.
Characteristics of Goldisthal pumped-storage power plant
The underground power station has installed capacity of 1060 megawatts (MW). Today it is still one of the largest and most modern power stations of its type in Europe.
The upper reservoir holds around 13 million cubic metres of working water, enough for the turbines to run at full load for around nine hours. It takes the power station approximately 100 seconds to go from inactivity to full power (1060 MW). This quick availability makes it an important component of the energy revolution as it can respond to the heavy fluctuations in the feed of renewable energy. Pumped storage plants guarantee network stability.