By rosebell
Following completing the excavation of the access tunnel and the throttle chamber, in order to ensuring the pumped storage power plant can go into operation in 2027, work continues in parallel at the Schwarzenbach power plant and the team is preparing for work on the shaft.
The date of commencing pilot bore was the end of June and this 350mm-diameter bore serves as preparation for the subsequent widening of the shaft.
While the time duration for Porr in reaching the shaft base cavern was less than two weeks, with the aim of widening the shaft to a diameter of almost 3.1m, the Porr tunneling team is mounting an approximately 11-ton reamer (drill head) on the drill rod.
Additionally, in the cavern work is advancing and drilling and blasting are under way, whereas digging is complete on the crown and benches one and two. Considering the progress of bench three in the cavern section of the Schwarzenbach power plant, the next significant phase is undergoing.
For the conversion of the Rudolf Fettweis run-of-river plant into a pumped storage power plant, Porr Tunnelbau has been constructing a cavern and tunnel system on behalf of EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, since autumn 2023.
As a key step in the conversion project, breakthrough was made on the Murgwerk access tunnel in Ma 2025, whereas the breakthrough of the energy diversion tunnel to the cavern and the installation of the crane runway beam were already completed.
