Obervermunt Plant (OVW II)

Obervermunt Plant (OVW II)

Excerpt

The Obervermunt Plant II is designed as a pumped storage scheme with a quick response time. The scheme raised the capacity of the chain of the hydropwer plants Upper Ill-Lünersee to which the plant belongs by around 360 MW in both turbine and pump operation.

The pumped storage scheme Obervermunt II uses the head fall between with Silvretta and Vermunt reservoirs to raise the efficiency of hydropower extraction for the client Illwerke. It was constructed in parallel to the existing Obervermunt hydropower plant and is designed as a rapidly-responding pumped storage mechanism. The two sets of plant machinery, turbines and pumps can be flexibly and individually regulated to adapt to optimise the energy production efficiency. The plant can additionally be run in hydraulic short-circuit mode with adjustable pumps.

The plant makes use of the advantageous location with a pre-existing hydropower plant, nearby existing reservoirs and supporting infrastructure. The new scheme uses no new water resources and therefore requires no new permissions under watercourse regulations.