EnBW decides to proceed with pumped storage plant in Forbach, Germany

German electric utility EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG (ETR:EBK) on Monday announced an investment decision for a EUR-280-million (EUR 305m) project to modernise an existing conventional storage hydropower plant in Forbach in the northern Black Forest and convert it into a pumped-storage power plant.

The Rudolf Fettweis hydropower plant consists of four facilities built between 1914 and 1926 and has a total capacity of about 71 MW.

The Forbach Pumped Storage Power Plant/New Lower Reservoir project will add a powerhouse into the hillside with a 54-MW pump turbine, as well as three Francis turbines with a total output of about 23 MW.

The project has secured approval from the Karlsruhe regional administration after a planning approval process of more than five years. Construction could start this autumn, with completion anticipated by the end of 2027.

EnBW said the project will support its renewables expansion and 2035 climate neutrality goal by providing additional dispatchable capacity.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.089)

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