Vianden Pumped Storage Plant

The Vianden Pumped Storage Plant is located just north of Vianden in Diekirch District, Luxembourg. The power plant uses the pumped-storage hydroelectric method to generate electricity and serves as a peaking power plant. Its lower reservoir is located on the Our River, bordering Germany, and the upper is elevated above on the nearby Saint Nicholas Mountain. Construction on the plant began in 1959 and the first pump-generators were commissioned in 1962. A tenth pump-generator was installed in 1976 bringing the plant's installed generating capacity to. The plant generates an average of annually and is owned by Société Electrique de l'Our and RWE. Construction on an eleventh pump-generator began in 2010 and it is expected to be commissioned in 2013, which will bring the plant's installed capacity to.BackgroundPlanning for the project began in 1925 but the idea failed due to a lack of funding and political pressure. On 10 July 1958, a treaty was signed between Luxembourg and the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, which also shares the Our River, allowing construction. Construction began in August 1959. The first four pump-generators were commissioned in the winter of 1962/63 and five through nine in 1964. The official inauguration of the plant was held on 17 April 1964. Construction on a tenth pump-generator began in 1970 and was operational in late 1976. It required the expansion of the upper reservoir, known as Upper Reservoir II.