Germany to Reuse Coal Mine as Pumped Hydro Power Plant

---

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--As Germany works to reduce its use of coal-fired power, plans have been revealed to transform a working coal mine into a pumped-storage hydroelectric plant.

The state of North-Rhine Westphalia, part of Germany's coal-mining heartland, wants to turn the Prosper-Haniel hard coal mine in Bottrop into a 200-megawatt (MW) pumped hydro plant capable of supplying back-up power to around 400,000 homes. The 600 metre-deep coal mine has been worked since the 1970s and is facing closure in 2018. The project is being championed by state governor Hannelore Kraft, has European Union (EU) support and is being worked on by a team comprising leading academic and industry players.

The Prosper-Haniel project is the first in what could become a network of such hydro plants located in the extensive underground coal mining infrastructure of the Ruhr area. The 2018 closure of the mine coincides with the end of German subsidies for hard coal mines.

"Developing renewable energy capacity and its increased integration in Germany's energy supply is a current priority in energy policy," the development team stated. "Fluctuations in electricity supply from renewable sources mean that storage technology is an important component of the necessary infrastructure. Up to now there have been no mature concepts put forward to resolve the problem of storing electricity. Because a combination of different storage technologies is likely, pumped storage plants can also be expected to make their contribution to the energy transition."

Conventional pumped storage plants operate with an upper reservoir on a hill and a lower reservoir in the valley. This exploits the difference between the two basins to store energy during periods of oversupply and release it again when needed. Disused coal mines are seen a perfect alternative in areas where the topology doesn't support pumped hydro.

The team added: "The idea behind an underground pumped storage plant is to move the lower reservoir below ground into existing coal mines and install the upper basin at the surface. This would create drop heights of up to 1,200 metres with considerable potential for energy use."

The Prosper-Haniel mining complex has 26 kilometres of shafts that have the potential to accommodate a million cubic metres of water that could power turbines at the base of the mine to create power.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.