Uniper is to recommission a 160MW pumped storage plant in Bavaria, in Germany.
The Happurg pumped-storage plant near Nuremberg will return to the grid in 2028.
Uniper is investing around €250m in the asset.
“This investment is part of our previously announced strategy to invest in growth and transformation towards a greener business.
“We want 80 percent of our generation capacity to be carbon neutral by 2030, and the Happurg pumped storage plant will be an important strategic part of that.
“With the Happurg pumped-storage plant, we want to make more storage capacity available again.
“As Germany’s largest hydropower operator, we are thus contributing to a reliable power supply in the south and demonstrating our commitment to the energy transition,” said Michael Lewis, CEO of Uniper.
The power plant has a drop height of 209 metres and can store approximately 850 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity in the form of pumped water.
The plant was shut down in 2011 as a precautionary measure for safety reasons due to localised damage at the base of the upper reservoir. Since then, intensive subsoil investigations and geotechnical assessments have been carried out and various remediation approaches have been examined.
Based on these findings, a feasibility study was conducted to develop and refine a technical concept for the rehabilitation of the upper basin, which will allow the plant to be restarted economically.
This concept was reviewed and approved by the District Office of Nuremberg, as part of a planning approval procedure.
As part of the overall project, the equipment in the powerhouse will also be overhauled.