The Present State of Pumped Storage in Europe

Pumped storage in Europe dates back to the late 19th Century with strong upsurges in the 1930´s and 1950´s. It is used for various purposes, the extremes of which are seasonal storage and peaking. The paper lists all major pumping stations with complete engineering data, discusses the various possible arrangements of the machinery, the types of pumps and turbines available today, and the coupling and shaft arrangements. A few typical storage and peaking operations are described in some detail. After a short review of the economic aspects, a separate chapter is devoted to reversible pump-turbine units.