page_title: Kölnbrein Dam
section_title: Design and operation
hierarchical_section_title: Kölnbrein Dam / Design and operation
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Kölnbreinsperre und Galgenbichlspeicher von der Arlhöhe aus gesehen English: Kölnbreinsperre and Galgenbichl reservoir seen from Arlhöhe
context_page_description: The Kölnbrein Dam is an arch dam in the Hohe Tauern range within Carinthia, Austria. It was constructed between 1971 and 1979 and at 200 metres high, it is the tallest dam in Austria. The dam's reservoir serves as the primary storage in a three-stage pumped-storage power system that consists of nine dams, four hydroelectric power plants and a series of pipeline and penstocks. The complex is owned by Verbund power company and is referred to as the Malta-Reisseck Power Plant Group. The installed capacity of the group is 1,028.5 MW and its annual generation is 1,216 gigawatt-hours.
  While the dam's reservoir was filling, several cracks appeared in the dam and it took more than a decade of repairs before the reservoir could operate at maximum levels. Currently, the Reisseck II pumped-storage power plant is under construction and will effectively connect both the Malta and Reisseck groups and add an additional 430 MW of production capacity.
context_section_description: The water in the reservoir is used to generate electricity. It is drawn down as electric load demands. Because the catchment area around the dam can only supply half the needed water to sustain its reservoir levels, a series pumps and pumped-storage power plants are utilized to supplement storage capacity. These pumps operate during periods of low power demand, filling the reservoir. When demand is high, water is released back into the system to produce hydroelectricity.
  Immediately downstream from the Kölnbrein Dam is the Galgenbichl dam and reservoir. This reservoir serves to receive water from several different locations in Malta via pipeline and is the lower reservoir for the Upper stage pumped-storage power station. From the northeast, water is pumped in from several smaller reservoirs and tributaries.
caption: Kölnbrein Dam and Galgenbichl reservoir
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