Atdorf at Rest

Solar and wind energy require storage facilities to bridge periods when non-fossil energy sources are unavailable. The most elegant solution is to use existing water reservoirs already producing electricity and upgrade them with water pumps. The latter will be turned on when there is surplus electrical energy from renewable sources, pumping water uphill back into the reservoir.

Local storage facilities are welcome with the need for electricity in Germany's south, which is produced by off-shore wind parks in Germany's north. To this end, an artificial water reservoir near Atdorf in the south of the Black Forest is in the planning stage. Red Baron has reported about the compromised Atdorf project, which has now been put to rest. One Green deputy in Baden Württemberg's state parliament called the Atdorf exitus "extremely regrettable. The decision is economically comprehensible but unwise in terms of energy policy".

Artist's view of the upper and lower water reservoir near Atdorf (©Der Sonntag)

In fact, the decisive arguments for stopping the project were economic. With the cost of electricity way down in Europe, the 1.6 billion euros for constructing the Atdorf facility are just too high. Its capacity, on the other hand, is too small. A fully filled Atdorf reservoir would produce electricity at full power for a mere nine hours. In the meantime, many small gas-fired power plants ensure Germany's continuous electricity supply. A final argument is that surplus renewable energy is increasingly stored economically in second-generation batteries or by producing hydrogen or methane electrochemically.

R.I.P. Atdorf and the Black Forest stays green.

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