Switzerland opens new pumped hydro

[dan_b]

https://www.nant-de-drance.ch/en/

So this is now officially opened - a new pumped hydro scheme in the Swiss Alps.
900MW of power. They're quoting the energy storage value as an annoying 20 million mWh. I'm struggling to parse that into more sensible units, is that 20GWh?

Construction began in 2008 - that's a hecking long time ago.

[Joeboy]

WOW, serious scale project. I hope it runs for centuries.

Open day on 10th & 11th Sept for anyone nearby.

[AE-NMidlands]

https://www.nant-de-drance.ch/en/

So this is now officially opened - a new pumped hydro scheme in the Swiss Alps.
900MW of power. They're quoting the energy storage value as an annoying 20 million mWh. I'm struggling to parse that into more sensible units, is that 20GWh?

Construction began in 2008 - that's a hecking long time ago.

I hope that is Megawatt hours and not milliwatt hrs!
I think 20 million MWh is 20,000 Gigawatt-hrs, or 20 Terawatt-hours.
Seriously big.

[nowty]

https://www.nant-de-drance.ch/en/

So this is now officially opened - a new pumped hydro scheme in the Swiss Alps.
900MW of power. They're quoting the energy storage value as an annoying 20 million mWh. I'm struggling to parse that into more sensible units, is that 20GWh?

Construction began in 2008 - that's a hecking long time ago.

I hope that is Megawatt hours and not milliwatt hrs!
I think 20 million MWh is 20,000 Gigawatt-hrs, or 20 Terawatt-hours.
Seriously big.

Its 20 GWh or 20,000 MWh capacity. Its 900 MW capacity so its similar to a small nuke plant and has storage for 20 hours. Simple maths would suggest 22.22 hours, but I guess you lose some power output as the head is lost as the lake empties.

I wonder how long it takes to pump the water back from empty.

Cost was 1.5 billion Euros.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nant_de_D ... ower_Plant

[Marcus]

I was interested to read it claims 80% of energy returned to grid; i thought 60% was the usual round trip efficiency for pumped hydro.

[billi]

wish Switzerland now moves away from their unreliable dinosaur old Nuclear fleet and move forward towards more PV
Hope that this pumped storage project gets a partner that suits

https://app.electricitymaps.com/zone/CH

At the moment Switzerland imports about 20 % of its electricity demand from Germany and Austria
Germany right now covers 43 % of their electricity demand only from PV , whereas Switzerland only has a 8.5 % coverage by PV right now

Well to be fair about 40% of their electricity available is then exported to France and N-Italy

So one might asume that such a pumped storrage idea is ideal as well beside to compliment wind and PV , to buy in cheap power and sell it on for a higher price

[John_S]

I visited the Emosson and Vieux Emosson reservoirs in 2015 while on holiday in Chamonix. Access via one of the steepest funicular railways in Switzerland.



The scheme was under construction at the time, with the Vieux (top) reservoir drained.



There was a plug hole at the bottom of it.

[billi]

oh , interesting John

Just a a general question occurs to me

"Why do they construct Dams in that curve ?" I would have thought that bending inwards into the lake would be more structural safe and common sense , but i suppose that belly is so much reinvorced, that it won"t matter

[Countrypaul]

oh , interesting John

Just a a general question occurs to me

"Why do they construct Dams in that curve ?" I would have thought that bending inwards into the lake would be more structural safe and common sense , but i suppose that belly is so much reinvorced, that it won"t matter

Billi, I think you a misinerpreting the photographs. Those last two photos are taken from inside the lake/reservoir whilst it was drained, so the dam does bend inwards. Have a look at the website linked to in the first post for what it looks like now full (or at least was when they took the photograph).

[Mart]

That's a biggie, so half the power of Dinorwig, but just over twice the energy storage.

"I love it when a plan comes together."