The €167m (£145m) contract, awarded by Energie AG Oberösterreich, includes the construction of the Traunsee outlet structure, the tunnelling and gallery construction, the construction of two plumb shafts, and the excavation of an inclined shaft with a 60° incline.
The project will enable water from Lake Traun to be pumped almost 500m up into a storage facility in the mountains. The cavern power plant will have output capacity of 170MW and a storage capacity of 1.32 million m3.
The new facility is due to be completed for testing at the end of 2027 and operational in February 2028.
“Pumped storage power plants can absorb large amounts of energy and release it again during times of peak demand. This makes them a much-needed part of the energy transition,” said Porr CEO Karl-Heinz Strauss.
In line with its Green and Lean strategy, Porr is installing photovoltaic panels on the roofs of the construction offices and worker accommodation and will use EVs on site.
Porr is also currently constructing the caverns and galleries for two Austrian projects – the Limberg III pumped storage power plant in Salzburg, and Rodund in Vorarlberg – as well as Forbach in Germany.
