Hydropower stations at the Ruhr's impounded lakes
All dams at the Ruhr's impounded lakes, with the exception of the weir at Kemnad, are used to generate hydropower. A hydropower station for Lake Kemnad is currently under construction. Altogether, the power stations of the various impounded lakes have a capacity of 27.4 megawatts, generating an average amount of 88.5 KW/h per year.
In addition, the creation of Lake Hengstey offered an opportunity to build a pumped storage hydrostation. Thus, at times of light load, the “Koepchenwerk” hydrostation can pump about 1.5 million cubic metres of water from Lake Hengstey to a reservoir situated higher up within 7.5 hours. At times of peak load, this reservoir can be emptied in a little under four hours, thus serving an important function as a peak energy supplier.
Hydrostation technical specifications
| Lake Hengstey | Stiftsmühle | Lake Harkort | Lake Kemnade | Lake Baldeney | Lake Kettwiger | |
| Average head (m) | 4.6 | 2.0 | 7.8 | 2.6 | 8.7 | 6.0 |
| Turbines | 3 Kaplan | 3 Kaplan | 3 Kaplan | 1 Kaplan | 2 Kaplan 1) | 3 Kaplan |
| Maximum design flow (m3/s) | 100 | 110 | 120 | 35 | 140 | 145 |
| Capacity (MW) | 3.3 | 2.2 | 6.6 | 0.75 | 10.0 | 5.3 |
| Average annual production (Mil. kWh) | 13.0 | 7.5 | 24.0 | 4.0 | 28.0 | 16.0 |
1) Additional reverse pump turbine 1 x Kaplan
