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Markersbach Pumped Storage Power Plant

Coordinates: 50°31′03″N 12°52′50″E / 50.51750°N 12.88056°E / 50.51750; 12.88056
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Markersbach Pumped Storage Power Plant
The lower reservoir's dam
Official namePumpspeicherwerk Markersbach
CountryGermany
LocationMarkersbach
Coordinates50°31′03″N 12°52′50″E / 50.51750°N 12.88056°E / 50.51750; 12.88056
StatusOperational
Construction began1970
Opening date1979; 45 years ago (1979)
Owner(s)Vattenfall
Reservoir
CreatesMarkesbach Upper
Total capacity6,300,000 m3 (5,107 acre⋅ft) (upper)
Power Station
Hydraulic head288 m (945 ft)
Turbines6 × 174.25 MW Francis pump turbine
Installed capacity1,045 MW
Annual generation980 GWh

The Markersbach Pumped Storage Power Plant is a hydroelectric power station utilizing pumped-storage technology in Markersbach, Saxony, Germany. The installed capacity of the power plant is 1,045 MW. It is Germany's second largest Pumped Storage Power Plant.

It is owned and operated by Vattenfall (Vattenfall Wasserkraft GmbH).[1]

History

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Planning for the power plant began in 1961, construction began in 1970 and the generators were commissioned in 1979. The power station generates electricity by moving water between an upper and lower reservoir. During periods of low energy demand, water is pumped from the lower reservoir at an elevation of 563 m (1,847 ft) to an upper reservoir at 850 m (2,789 ft). When energy demand is high, the water is released back down towards the lower reservoir and fed through six 174.25 MW reversible Francis pump turbines, the same machines that pumped the water to the upper reservoir. The installed capacity of the power plant is 1,045 MW.[2][3]

A panorama of the upper reservoir

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Power plants: Pumpspeicherkraftwerk Markersbach – eines der größten Wasserkraftwerke Europas - Vattenfall". powerplants.vattenfall.com. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  2. ^ "Markersbach". Vattenfall. Archived from the original on 28 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Pumped-Storage Hydroelectric Plants in Germany". IndustCards. Retrieved 8 January 2012.