Navigation An alpine battery with the dimensions of Europe Connect Recording Confirm the reset of the password.

Switzerland and its hydroelectric power plants can give decisive impulse to the energy transition of Europe.A new pumping and turbinage plant, located in the upper Trient valley in Valais, will manage fluctuations in wind and solar energy.

"The electrical storage capacity of the lake corresponds to that of more than 400,000 batteries of electric cars", details Alain Sauthier, a graduate engineer, the gaze to Lac du Vieux Emosson, a tank built in 1955 in the Valais commune ofExternal finhautlien, a stone's throw from the French resort of Chamonix.

We are at an altitude of 2225 meters, and Alain Sauthier, director of the pumping-turbage hydroelectric unit of Nant de Drancelien external, wants to show us how one of the most powerful "hydraulic energy batteries" in Europe ".

The power station uses two tanks, upstream and downstream of the site.Water stored in Lake Old Emosson is dumped downstream to produce electricity during peak hours.From the lower tank, Lake Emosson, located some 300 meters below, the water is pumped upstream to be stored during periods of energy overproduction.

"It is an ecological battery that always uses the same water.The yield is more than 80%: for each kilowatt hour of electricity that we use to pump water upstream, we inject 0.8 kilowatt hour in the network, ”notes Alain Sauthier.

>> Regardez la courte animation ci-dessous pour une vue tridimensionnelle de la centrale:

Between 2012 and 2016, the old Emosson dam was enhanced by around twenty meters to increase the capacity of the lake and thus store more energy, explains Alain Sauthier.

"In the future, it will be more and more necessary to store large quantities of electricity.We will have more and more renewable energies to replace nuclear and fossil fuels, ”he says.Before adding that solar and wind are volatile sources that do not necessarily produce electricity at the right time.This is why it is important to have systems of this type to store energy and ensure network stability.

>> Découvrez le fonctionnement de la centrale:

A high tech cave in the Alps

From the old Emosson dam, you enter the mountain through a metal door inserted in the rock.The director of Nant de Drance SA wishes to take us to the heart of the plant, in the machine room.

While we are driving in one of the factory's tunnels, Alain Sauthier evokes the logistical and technical challenges of one of the largest infrastructure projects in Switzerland since the start of the millennium.In total, 18 kilometers of tunnels were dug in the Valais Alps.Hundreds of trucks have crossed the main tunnel, carrying everything, prefabricated offices with spherical valves weighing more than a hundred tonnes, to the top of the mountain.

At the most intense site of the site, up to 500 people worked in the mountains."Underground, the greatest danger is that of fires and especially smoke.And one of the greatest successes of the project is not having undergone any death or serious accident since the start of the work twelve years ago, "said the director.

After a few kilometers in a wet and dark tunnel, and 600 meters of rock above our heads, we reach the machine room.

Okra can produce too much pods to ounce.This step by step guide show How to freeze fresh okra pods to prese… https: // t.CO/OYO7D51IYU

— Grow Create Save Sun Jan 19 00:10:23 +0000 2020

Almost 200 meters long and 32 meters wide, the cave was initially 52 meters high."We could have placed the tower of Pisa," notes Alain Sauthier.Today, part of the space is occupied by the concrete structures which contain the pumps-turbines, but the view remains impressive.

Too big for Switzerland

With a power of 900 megawatts, nant of Drance is one of the most powerful power plants in Europe, with that of Linthal in the canton of Glaris (1000 MW).

Alain Sauthier underlines the peculiarities of the six Turbines, which are among the rare in the world of this size and this technology: "In less than ten minutes, we can reverse the direction of rotation of the turbine and go from the production ofStorage electricity.This flexibility is essential to quickly react to the needs of the electricity network and adapt the production and consumption of electricity.Otherwise, we risk a collapse of the network and a blackout, as this year has happened in Texas this year.»»»»

The power station is essential to guarantee the supply of electricity and the stability of the network, "but it is far too large for Switzerland, according to its director.It can play a role in stabilization of the network at European level.We are at the center of the continent and energy goes through Switzerland.If there is an overproduction of wind energy in Germany, we will use excess electricity to pump and store water.»»»»

More than half of our electricity comes from water

Switzerland has a hundred accumulation tanks for the production of hydroelectric energy.However, only fifteen of them have a pumping system.

The total capacity of these power plants is lower than that of many other countries such as Austria, Germany and Italy.On the other hand, Swiss power plants generally have larger water retention basins and are therefore able to operate over longer periods, notes the association of Swiss electric companies (external AESLIEN).In summer, Switzerland exports up to 25% of the electricity it produces.

In the Confederation, hydroelectricity represents more than 56% of the electricity produced in the country.In Europe, only Norway (93.5%) and Austria (59%) have larger shares.

616,000 potential sites worldwide

The pumping-rebuilding power plants will allow the future to store more and more green electricity to restore it later during the shortage, according to the AES."Thanks to its power plants, Switzerland can contribute to the integration of irregular electricity production in Europe. Toutefois, son rôle ne doit pas être surestimé, car il dépend avant tout de la capacité des lignes existantes»»»», souligne l'association.

«Le pompage-turbinage est une technologie mature»»»», selon Benoît Revaz, de l'Office fédéral de l'énergie.However, progress remains to be made to improve the flexibility of the system in relation to current operating conditions, he adds.With eleven other countries, Switzerland participates in an external international forum which aims to revitalize the development of the Pompey reserve on the electricity markets.

According to Matthew Stocks, from the Australian National University, there are 616,000 sites in the world where we could build water pumping installations in closed circuit with two tanks.Only one percent would be enough to solve the entire intermittent energy storage problem, he underlines, based its evaluation on purely geographic considerations.

React quickly at the price

Beyond its potential, the Nant de Drance power station, owned by a company led by the electrician Alpiq and the federal railways (CFF), will obviously be attached to both ends.An arduous task in a sector that has been faced in recent years with financial difficulties and the unpredictability of the electricity market.

"We must react quickly to pump when the price is low and turbinate when it is high. Auparavant, nous turbinions le jour et pompions la nuit, mais aujourd'hui la situation a changé, avec des pics de consommation jusque tard dans la soirée»»»», note Alain Sauthier.

Of Drance will be fully operational for commercial production in the summer of 2022.The hope of its operators is that it becomes profitable when nuclear power plants are definitively closed and that renewable energies will take over from fossil fuels.

Symposium on the green economy

The external symposium which is held in Winterthur on September 2 and 3, 2021 brings together participants from the public and private sectors to discuss the challenges and solutions to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.Renewable energies and the supply of raw materials are among the main themes of this year publishing.

As a media partner, Swi Swissinfo.CH will coorganize and animate a forum on effective and sustainable communication, including a presentation on solutions journalism.

Articles mentioned