Markersbach - one of the largest hydropower plants in Europe
Facts
Country
Germany
Electricity Capacity
1,045.2 MWe
Stream
Große Mittweida
Head
288 m
Water discharge
6 x 70 m³/s
Turbine type
Francis, Ossberger
Vattenfall ownership share
100 %
Status
In Operation
Vattenfall's second largest pumped storage plant is on the Mittweida river in the Western Ore Mountains.
History and Characteristics of Markersbach Pumped-storage Power Plant
The six machine sets at Markersbach pumped storage plant began operations as early as 1981. It has installed capacity of 1050 megawatts (MW).
The upper reservoir can hold around six million cubic metres of working water, enough for the turbines to run at full load for approximately four hours. It takes the power station just two minutes to go from inactivity to full power (1050 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.