Kopswerk II becomes more powerful: how 50 MW more energy can be obtained!

Kopswerk II becomes more powerful: how 50 MW more energy can be obtained!

Gaschurn, Österreich - The Kopswerk II in the Montafon, a modern pumped storage power plant, is faced with an significant increase in performance. The state -owned energy producer Illwerke VKW announced that the flow rate should be increased from currently 80 to 86 cubic meters per second. This improvement allows the turbines to produce 200 megawatts instead of the 175 megawatts generated so far. Thanks to these measures, the total power of the power plant could increase to about 570 megawatts, which means an increase of 50 megawatts. The increase does not require conversions, but several permits are necessary to implement the project. The Kopswerk II, which has been in operation since 2008, uses water from the Silvretta and Verwall Mountains.

technical details and innovative solutions

The system is designed as a cavern power plant that is located inside the mountain. The water of the Kopsesee to the turbines is led via a pressure tunnel. Interestingly, the Kopswerk II is designed to work in so -called hydraulic short -circuit mode. According to Voith, the supplier of the investment technology, the storage pumps and turbines can be operated at the same time, which increases efficiency. This means that the turbines can still store electricity when overproduction from the power grid, even if there is not enough power to operate the pumps.

In addition, three hydraulic torque converters are installed, which enable a quick change between pump and turbine operation. Voith has also delivered innovative reversible pump turbines in other Austrian facilities, such as Limberg II, that save space and are economically attractive. This technology is particularly advantageous to maximize the performance capacities in times of increasing demand, while at the same time the environmentally friendly power generation is promoted by hydropower, such as voith reported.