Construction work has officially begun on the 450MW Kops II hydroelectric plant in Vorarlberg, Austria, with commissioning scheduled for 2007/2008.
Austrian electricity supplier Vorarlberger Illwerke AG is developing the high-head plant, together with the Germany’s EnBW AG. Voith Siemens Hydro has been awarded a US$79.5M contract for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of three sets of three-stage storage pumps, hydraulic torque converter, six sets of spherical valves (design pressure 115 bar) for the turbines and pumps, and two emergency shut-off butterfly valves.
Water for the pumped storage project will be conducted from the existing Kopssee storage lake to the surge tank in Tafamunt village and into the cavern of the power plant. The existing compensation reservoir Rifa will serve as the tailwater reservoir and will be connected to the plant through a newly built tailrace channel.