The Zillergründl Dam is an
arch dam
An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strengthen ...
on the
Ziller River in the upper
Ziller Valley of
Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
state, Austria. It is east of
Mayrhofen
Mayrhofen is a town in the Zillertal (Ziller river valley) in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is located approximately an hour from the Tyrolean capital city of Innsbruck.
Population
Tourism
The town offers a variety of summer and winter sports ...
. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and it supports a 360 MW
pumped-storage
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential ...
power station. As part of the Zemm-Ziller Development, construction on the dam began in 1981 and it along with the Häusling Pumped Storage Power Plant were complete in 1986. The power plant was fully commissioned by 1988. The dam is the second tallest in Austria.
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Design and operation
At an elevation of above sea level, the Zillergründl is a tall and long variable-radius arch dam with a structural volume of . The dam is wide at its crest and at its base. Its reservoir has a capacity of , of which is active (or "useful") capacity. At normal levels, the reservoir has a catchment area of . The reservoir operates at elevations from to which is the draw-down level.[
Water released from the reservoir reaches the Häusling Power Plant downstream. The power plant is located at an elevation of and contains two 180 MW ]Francis turbine
The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency.
The proces ...
-generators. It is afforded of hydraulic head
Hydraulic head or piezometric head is a specific measurement of liquid pressure above a vertical datum., 410 pages. See pp. 43–44., 650 pages. See p. 22.
It is usually measured as a liquid surface elevation, expressed in units of length, ...
given the difference in elevations. Using its pumped-storage capability, the power-station receives water from the Stillupp Reservoir to the west in an adjacent valley at and pumps it up to the Zillergründl Reservoir. The pumping and replenishment of the reservoir occur at night, during low energy demand periods. The process is repeated; electricity is generated during high-demand periods and pumping occurs during low-demand periods when electricity is cheaper.
See also
*List of tallest dams in the world
This is a list of the tallest dams in the world over in height. The tallest dam in the world is the Jinping-I Dam, an arch dam in China at . The tallest embankment dam and second tallest dam in the world is the Nurek Dam in Tajikistan. The tall ...
*List of power stations in Austria
The following page lists all power stations in Austria. For generation of traction current see List of installations for 15 kV AC railway electrification in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, for that of Mariazeller Bahn, see Mariazeller Bahn#Power ...
References
Dams completed in 1986
Energy infrastructure completed in 1986
Dams in Austria
Hydroelectric power stations in Austria
Arch dams
Pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in Austria
Lakes of Tyrol (state)
{{Tyrol-geo-stub