Drought prompts Mellach gas plant to boost power output

Drought has reduced electricity production from Austrian hydropower plants, prompting the Mellach gas-fired power plant south of Graz to partially resume operations, ORF reported.

According to Verbund, Austria’s hydropower plants are currently generating about one third less electricity than usual because river levels are low. Solar power largely offsets the shortfall during the day, but at night, when there is also little wind, Austria often has to import electricity or rely on gas-fired plants.

At Mellach, one of the two generating units, known as Line 20, is currently operating. It has an electrical capacity of about 417 megawatts and uses cooling towers.

Line 10, which relies on fresh water for cooling, can only operate on a limited basis or not at all. If the Mur river is too warm, its water cannot be used as cooling water. Water returned to the river would also be warmer than before, and strict regulatory limits require the Mur below the plant to remain below 25 degrees Celsius. A similar issue is currently affecting numerous nuclear power plants in Europe.

Verbund said there was no need to be concerned about electricity supplies because Austria relies on a mix of solar, wind, hydropower and gas. On Friday morning, solar energy covered 57 percent of Austria’s electricity demand, according to current Energy Ministry data.

Verbund said energy storage would become increasingly important in the coming years. It said a combination of pumped-storage hydropower plants, which can carry energy from summer into winter, and batteries, which can shift energy from daytime into the night, would be needed.