Energy generation

At the dams on the Moselle, the river’s natural fall is used to generate energy. When the Moselle was made navigable, ten hydro-electric power plants were built between Koblenz and Trier; two further plants were built along the German-Luxembourg border section. These power plants are an environmentally friendly way of generating electricity. Five further power plants were built in France in a subsequent construction phase.

The output of each power plant depends on the amount of water flowing through it, but also on the head of water at each individual dam. The body of water that flows quickly through the power plant drives a turbine, and it is this rotation that generates energy in the generator.

The ten German Moselle power plants have a combined output of 180,000 kilowatts. The annual production in an average water year amounts to roughly 800 million kilowatt hours. This is enough energy to supply 265,000 homes. Because of the smaller amount of water flowing through them, the power plants in Luxembourg and France have a lower output than the German ones. The seven plants higher up the Moselle are jointly able to produce 27,200 kilowatts, generating an average of 122 million kilowatt hours per year. This is sufficient to supply a further 35,000 homes.
The table below contains information on the output of each power plant:

News

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