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Goldisthal Pump Storage Power Station

The VEAG Vereinigte Energiewerke AG is setting up its new Goldisthal pump storage power station in the west of the Thuringian Schiefergebirge on the course of the River Schwarze between Goldisthal and Scheibe. The power station will possess an installed output of 1,060 MW and provide electricity for the VEAG network around the turn-of-the-year 2002/2003. The power station comprises:

  • upper course basin with intake structure
  • upper water tunnels
  • machine cavern with access Tunnel
  • transformer cavern with outlet structure
  • lower basin with main dam and fore-dam
  • operating building and ancillary structures.

The Lot B 2 includes the cavern structure as such and the inclined shafts (upper water tunnel), which joins the intake structure at the upper basin with the pump turbines of the cavern (1 tunnel in each case for 2 pump turbines). The 2 upper water tunnels are 870 m in length and have a pressure head of some 300 m. The diameter amounts to 6.2 m. The rock caverns are created by drill+blast. The machine cavern represents the largest subsurface cavity of the project. The excavated dimensions amount to 137 x 26 x 48.5 m corresponding to an extracted volume of 152,000 m³. 2 of the 4 sets of machines comprise a pump turbine and synchronous motor generator, the 2 further sets of machines consist of a pump turbine and a speed-regulated asynchronous motor generator. The nominal output of a set of machine in turbine operation amounts to 265 MW. The machine transformers are located in a separate cavern, the energy is transferred via a special tunnel. 2 concrete-lined underwater tunnels with a diameter of 8.2 m and a length of 340 m as well as linked branch tunnels connect the pump turbines with the outlet structure at the lower basin. The lower basin results from the damming up of the Schwarza some 500 m above the town of Goldisthal. An additional small hydropower Station us to be set up at the foot of the dam, which will provide an average of 1.6 million kWh per year. Altogether a period of 6 years has been earmarked for realising the Goldisthal pump storage power Station. Investment costs total some DM 1 billion.

 

  • Country: Germany
  • Region: Thüringen
  • Tunnel utilization: Utilities
  • Type of utilization: Hydropower
  • Client: VEAG- vereinigte Energiewerke Aktiengesellschaft
  • Consulting Engineer: Lahmeyer International GmbH
  • Contractor: Walter Bau AG, Heilit + Wörner Bau AG, Ed. Züblin AG, Stuag
  • Main construction method: Trenchless
  • Type of excavation: Drill-and-blast
  • Lining: Concrete Formwork
  • No. of tubes: 2
  • Tunnel total length: Turbine cavern 137 m, Transformer cavern 122 m
  • Cross-section: Turbine cavern width 26 m, height 48.5 m; Transformer cavern width 15 m, height 17 m
  • Contract Volume: 250 mill. DM
  • Construction start/end: 1998 till 2003
  • Opening: 2003