EIB Funds Austrian Hydropower

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Two Austrian hydropower projects have been granted a 280-million-euro ($376 million) loan by the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Located in the Vorarlberg region, the projects have a combined generating capacity of 373-megawatts (MW) and are designed to reduce network losses, add balancing capacity to the network and provide additional regulating energy. The money will be used by federal state-owned energy supply company, Voralberger Illwerke AG (Bregenz, Austria) for the 360 MW Obervermuntwerk II pumped-storage power project and the smaller 13 MW Rellswerk plant and reinforcement of the Bürs substation. Completion is scheduled for 2018.

"Europe is dependent on a secure, efficient and flexible power supply," explained EIB Vice-President, Wilhelm Molterer, "and the EIB sees this as one of the core goals of its financing. The growing diversification of energy sources, especially renewable energy, also poses new challenges for power plants. Capacity must be increased, supply must be balanced. Obervermuntwerk II will play a key role in generating environmentally friendly power--and not only for the Federal State of Vorarlberg. It will also make an important contribution to ensuring the stability and reliability of the whole European power grid."

The Obervermuntwerk II power plant is designed to work alongside the existing Obervermuntwerk station. It will be constructed at an altitude of 1,700 meters above sea level and utilize the head between two reservoirs--the Silvretta with an altitude of around 2000 meters and the Vermunt at around 1,700 meters--to rapidly deliver peak and regulating energy to the public power grid when necessary.

In March French engineering firm, Alstom S.A. (OTC:ALSMY) (Paris, France) was contracted to supply the Obervermuntwerk II with two specially designed generators with an output capacity of 180 MW each. Alstom will also assemble the machines and commission them in 2018. When complete, Obervermuntwerk II will be the second largest power station of project owner, Voralberger Illwerke. For additional information, see March 24, 2014, article - Alstom Secures Austrian Hydropower Deal.

The EIB focuses its financing on projects that promote climate action and securing the energy supply. Last year its loans for relevant projects topped 19 billion euros, with renewable projects securing 6.4 billion euros and energy security projects around 5 billion euros.

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