Stoltzburg S.E.O. in Luxembourg

On the way back from Clervaux, we got off the bus at the Stoltzburg S.E.O. (central electric authority) Hydroelectric plant. Here's the deal: they started with a lake high up in the mountains, with a river way down in the valley. They tunneled up from the river, up through the mountain, up to the lake. They let the water run down the tunnel and through turbine generators when they need extra power. But, since most of Luxembourg (like Belgium) power is generated by nuclear, they keep the nuclear plant humming along on full power all the time, and they use the hydro power to meet peak demand. Then, when demand is slack, they keep the nuclear plant humming along at full throttle, and they use the excess electricity to (get this!) pump the water back up from the river to the lake! This keeps the lake full. Ingenious. Of course we use this kind of arrangement back in Virginia (Bath County has a plant like this, as does Lake Marion in South Carolina). But still, it was interesting. Debbie and I toured the hydro plant, including the turbine room, deep, deep back in the mountain. Here is the entrance in the side of the mountain. From the entrance, you walk down a looooong tunnel, lined on both sides with photos and hands-on exhibits about energy and power and the water cycle and hydro generation and stuff. At the end of the loooong tunnel is a heavy steel door about two feet thick, that opens into the stairwell leading down another 50 feet to the turbine room.

Voila. The turbine room, with ten turbines. This plant is about as big as Clark Hill.

And here is the control room. The operator saw us, smiled and waved, then went to the rest room. Go figure.

Fun and educational.