ANDRITZ to Supply Equipment for “Green Battery” Ebensee in Austria

06.12.2023
International technology group ANDRITZ has received an order from the Upper Austrian utility Energie AG to supply the electromechanical equipment for the new Ebensee pumped storage power plant. This groundbreaking project not only marks the largest single investment by the energy utility, but also represents a significant step towards climate neutrality.
ANDRITZ to Supply Equipment for “Green Battery” Ebensee in Austria

View into the Rumitzgraben with photomontage of the upper reservoir (Image source: Energie AG OÖ)

The advanced pumped storage plant will act as a green battery by balancing fluctuations in power generation from wind and solar plants, thus ensuring security of supply for the population. It takes advantage of the topography to store energy and make it available whenever needed.

Excess energy from renewable sources will be used to pump water from the Traunsee lake into a mountain reservoir 500 meters higher up at Grosser Sonnstein. When needed, the stored water will be released to generate energy that would otherwise have to be produced from fossil sources. ANDRITZ will equip the power plant with a 170-megawatt variable-speed reversible pump turbine, the generator and related automation.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place in October 2023. Scheduled to start commercial operation in 2028, the plant will be able to supply 280,000 households with green electricity.

Given the global increase in energy demand and the growing share of volatile renewable energy sources, economical solutions for storing large amounts of energy are critical. Pumped storage power plants currently represent the most efficient method of storing large amounts of energy for extended periods of time. They therefore play a key role in the clean energy transition.

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The Turkish water authority Devlet Su İşleri (DSI) has selected international technology group ANDRITZ to supply the electro-mechanical equipment for the new 160 MW Silvan hydropower plant in Türkiye. The company will supply four 40 MW turbines, four generators, associated hydropower plant equipment, and a 154 kV switchyard system.

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