Schwarze Pumpe power plant

In Schwarze Pumpe you can take a look behind the scenes of one of the most mod­ern lig­nite-fired power plants in Europe. Five years were spent build­ing the pow­er­ful twin-unit plant in the Schwarze Pumpe indus­trial park in Sprem­berg. It was offi­cially com­mis­sioned in 1998. About 36,000 tonnes of raw lig­nite, also from the Wel­zow-Süd open­cast mine, are used here day after day to pro­duce energy. The plant sup­plies not only elec­tric­ity but also process steam and dis­trict heat­ing to the region. 
Tech­nol­ogy enthu­si­asts can take a look inside the impos­ing 1600-megawatt plant dur­ing guided tours while it is in oper­a­tion. Expert guides and a mul­ti­me­dia infor­ma­tion cen­tre help vis­i­tors under­stand how the high-tech plant works. The tour ends with a trip to the 161-metre-high obser­va­tion tower. From here, the view sweeps far and wide over the nearby Wel­zow-Süd open-cast mine and the Lusa­t­ian Lake­land that is being cre­ated all around.

The Schwarze Pumpe power sta­tion infor­ma­tion cen­tre can be vis­ited inde­pen­dently.
Guided tours take place between April and Octo­ber by appoint­ment only. Indi­vid­ual group tours can be requested all year round.
Tours must be booked through the excur­sio vis­i­tor cen­tre.