Halle/Wendefurth (dpa/sa) - In Saxony-Anhalt, the share of hydropower in the energy mix is still rather small. As reported by the State Statistical Office, a total of 54 plants generated around 108,300 megawatt hours of electricity in 2021. That was a share of only 0.5 percent in relation to the total electricity generation in the country, which was fed into the grid based on all energy sources.
How water can be used to generate electricity can be seen in Saxony-Anhalt using the pumped storage plant in Wendefurth (Harz district) near Thale an der Bode. It belongs to the energy company Vattenfall. "In the plant's generation mode, when it's generating electricity, that's 531 megawatt hours," a company spokesman said. The system could generate electricity in turbine operation for seven hours at a time and feed it into the grid. According to Vattenfall, it operates a total of twelve hydroelectric power plants in Germany.
Although the use of hydropower in Saxony-Anhalt is low due to the lack of large rivers, the federal state is considered a pioneer in Germany when it comes to the use of renewable energies. Wind power is mainly used. According to current data from the State Statistical Office, wind energy made the largest contribution to electricity generation in Saxony-Anhalt in 2020. Renewable energies, including solar energy, accounted for a total of 61.5 percent of gross electricity generation. In addition, natural gas and lignite are energy sources in the country.
