Hydropower is currently the world's most important source of electricity from renewable energies. It is capable of base load and, unlike wind power and photovoltaics, is not as subject to the effects of the weather. EnBW has long relied on this form of climate-friendly energy generation and has an above-average share of hydropower in its energy mix throughout Germany.
The use of domestic hydropower has a long tradition at EnBW. The turbines in many of our plants have been turning for more than a hundred years. With around 900 MW of installed capacity from run-of-river power plants and around 1,900 MW of installed capacity from pumped storage and storage power plants, more than ten percent of our electricity generation comes from water power.
Hydropower is the oldest renewable energy source. We are using the climate-friendly storage method and realizing a unique project by expanding our hydropower plant in Forbach. An underground cavern storage facility and a cavern power plant are being realized.
There are essentially two types of hydropower plants: run-of-river power plants and storage power plants. The technical operation of the hydropower plants is identical: Water is held back by a dam and fed through one or more turbines in a controlled manner. These turbines drive generators that produce alternating current from the rotational energy, which is then fed into the power grid.