EWAZ Transfer: a project to transfer the Harz energy and water storage facility.

This interdisciplinary project is a collaborative effort involving several partners from Lower Saxony. The academic partners are TU Clausthal, TU Braunschweig, Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, the University of Göttingen and Leibniz University Hannover. Five industry partners are also involved: Harzwasserwerke, Uniper, Harz Energie, VGH Versicherungen and Öffentliche Versicherung Braunschweig. The project is funded by the EFRE funds form the participating Zukunftsregionen (SüdOst-Niedersachsen und Südniedersachsen).

Background

Climate change intensifies extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, making sustainable watershed management more challenging. Simultaneously, the shift to renewable energy requires advanced storage solutions. Pumped storage power plants can play a critical role in the energy transition by storing energy during periods of overproduction or grid overload, and releasing it during periods of electricity shortfall. When designed for multifunctionality, they can also serve as a climate adaptation measure, providing protection against extreme events. Despite these well-known advantages, almost no new plants have been constructed in Germany over the last 20 years. This is primarily due to the stringent site requirements as well as the potentially high environmental impacts of the intervention on the landscape and construction scale.

Objectives

Against this background, the project aims to explore new capabilities and design options for a pumped storage power plant in the western Harz region, incorporating environmental impact assessments and mitigation strategies from the outset of the planning process. Furthermore, integrating energy and water management with climate adaptation will result in innovative hybrid plants being developed to support renewable energy storage and provide additional ecosystem services, such as drinking water supply, flood control and augmentation of low flows. Such plants represent a novel approach not only in the Western Harz but also as a climate change adaptation measure within the energy transition framework in Northern Germany. By incorporating an analysis of potential environmental impacts at this early stage, the project aims to minimize environmental impacts by adjusting construction and operational methods. Furthermore, this proactive approach is intended to contribute to planning acceleration in later stages.

IUP involvement

The Institute's research group "Planning for Biodiversity and Vegetation Development" is primarily involved in the project's "environmental impacts" work package. Their main objective is to design and implement an ecological risk assessment methodology. This tailored approach will identify areas where impacts on protected environmental goods are expected, thereby informing mitigation strategies and enhancing the project's overall environmental performance.

Overall project coordination:  Clausthal Technical University