EON Gets Green Light to Build $328 Million Pump Storage Plant

EON AG, Germany’s largest utility, received permission from local authorities for a 250 million- euro ($328 million) expansion of an underground hydro pump storage plant.

The utility plans to add a 300-megawatt pump turbine to the Waldeck 2 facility, the Dusseldorf-based company said today in an e-mailed statement. A final investment decision will be made next year, it said.

EON last week said it will invest 7 billion euros in renewable energy projects in the next five years as the country abandons nuclear power.

Pump storage plants pump water at hydropower plants from a lower reservoir to a higher elevation during times of low demand. The water is released when demand is high, plunging through a turbine to generate electricity.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net