As part of a contract signed in late September, Voith will deliver three reversible Francis machines.
The pump turbines supplied by Voith will have a total output of 16MW and will form a core element in the energy storage plant.
The Naturstromspeicher Gaildorf plant combines a pumped storage hydro-electric power station with a wind farm.
Alexander Schechner from the Naturspeicher said: “The Naturstromspeicher has been a very complex project in terms of Research and Development. In Voith we found an experienced partner understanding our needs.”
Naturstromspeicher Gaildorf uses the wind farm's four towers and bases, which have a total capacity of 160,000m3, as water reservoirs.
The principle on which the storage power station works is if there is surplus of power, it shifts to pumping mode by sending water from a lower reservoir to the higher storage basin.
According to Voith, water is transferred from the higher basin to the bottom through a penstock, causing the pump turbines to move whenever the electricity demand in the grid increases. Electricity is generated through this process and stored into the electricity grid.
In July, Voith was awarded a contract by Sira-Kvina kraftselskap, a Norwegian energy supplier to upgrade the control systems for a couple of its hydroelectric power plants.
Voith also secured another contract for the modernization of three generators of the South African pumped storage power plant Drakensberg.
Image: With the Naturstromspeicher a wind farm can be turned into a highly versatile power plant. Photo: courtesy of Naturspeicher GmbH.
