Storage Lakes: Alpine Energy Storage

As opposed to the renewable energies forms of wind and solar energy, water can be stored as a raw material for the production of electricity. As at times, insufficient energy is available from renewable sources, it is wise to build hydrodams to store large volumes of this limitless raw material - water!   

• Storage dams are long-term energy reserves and as such contribute signficantly to the security of electricity supply.
• Alpine snow melt and rain water are collected in storage lakes in summer and are available in times of limited energy supply over long periods of time (weeks/months).
• Gaps in electricity production by wind and sun can be covered by storage lakes. Development of renewable energies requires a large amount of back-up capacity. 
• Storage dams will become more important in the future: Prognosis says that, because of climatic changes, fluctuations in inflow will increase.  
• Large storage lakes whose level increases slowly, also in periods of intensive long-lasting precipitation, reduce the danger of flood damage for lower lying areas. ,