Construction of pumped-storage hydropower plant stalled due to unprofitability

Unfavourable political conditions have stalled plans for the construction of the Franzosenkopf pumped-storage hydropower plant near the city of Mainz, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. The plant is meant to store power from solar and wind power for times of low energy generation from renewable sources but currently could not be operated in an economically viable manner, the article says. Stefan Kapferer, head of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), recently said many hydro-storage plants in Germany were threatened because “grid fees are charged both for filling and for emptying the storage,” the newspaper explains.

For additional information, see the CLEW factsheet How can Germany keep the lights on in a renewable energy future?.