Future energy storage

Pumped storage: Key to energy transition

Morocco's energy strategy includes the construction of two pumped storage plants by 2030 with a total capacity of 725MW: Abdelmoumen (350MW) and El-Menzel (300 - 400MW). As wind and solar energy capacities expand, so does the need for efficient, large-scale energy storage solutions. Pumped storage plants are a proven and effective technology to balance natural fluctuations in solar and wind energy generation by moving water between two reservoirs at different elevations to store and release energy.

Abdelmoumen pumped storage plant in the atlas montains

Located near the Issen River in Taroudant province, approximately 70 km northeast of Agadir, the Abdelmoumen pumped storage plant stands above the existing Abdelmoumen reservoir. In 2017, ANDRITZ, as part of a consortium with VINCI Construction, which handled the major construction work, was awarded the contract to supply the electromechanical equipment for the new plant by the Office Nationale de l’Électricité et de l’Eau Potable (ONEE). ANDRITZ was responsible for the design, manufacture, supply, installation, supervision, and commissioning of the reversible pump turbines, motor generators, and electrical energy systems. Together with VINCI Construction, ANDRITZ successfully completed the technically challenging waterway, which includes a freestanding penstock with diameters of 4.8 m, 4.25 m, and 3.6 m, and a length of approximately 1.6 km. This project also features 800 m of tunnels, a 60 m-high vertical shaft, and both low-head and high-head bifurcators.

Innovative commissioning concept 

In mid-2024, the project reached a significant milestone with its successful commissioning.

Traditionally, hydropower plants start commissioning with the water flowing in the turbine or power generating mode, spinning at low speed with no loads to allow verification of the mechanical behavior of the unit prior to full-load operation. For Abdelmoumen, ANDRITZ engineers changed the commissioning process and adopted a rare if not unique approach by starting commissioning in pumping mode first. Using the frequency converter, the engineers were able to spin the unit at zero load but nominal speed which allowed for verification of the mechanical behavior but spinning in the opposite direction to conventional commissioning. 

Having successfully passed this verification step in early 2024, the first of the two Abdelmoumen units began operating in pump mode at 165MW. Within two hours, this first unit had delivered enough water to the upper reservoir to begin commissioning the second unit in turbine mode.

ANDRITZ is proud to have delivered this time-saving procedure, showcasing excellence in both engineering and innovation.

The success of Abdelmoumen underscores the growing importance of pumped storage plants for the future of renewable energy in Morocco and across the African continent.

Authors: Stefan Kristukat, Mario Ledic