The reservoir was successfully filled and the first synchronisation of a machine set with the public power grid followed. Since then, electricity has been flowing from the Salzach river to households in the region for the first time - clean, sustainable and regionally generated.
Grid synchronisation is a technically highly sensitive process: frequencies, voltages and phases must be precisely coordinated.
"The interaction of the many hydraulic and electrotechnical components was tested beforehand in weeks of meticulous work,"
explains Rudolf Palzenberger, project manager at VERBUND. The second machine set is due to follow in June.
A power plant with respect for the river
The prerequisite for electricity production was the controlled damming of the Salzach. In three stages and with great consideration for nature and river ecology, the water level was carefully raised over a period of one and a half weeks. Leakage tests were carried out on the dams, as Herwig Berkenhoff, deputy project manager at Salzburg AG, explains. The drop height of the power plant is 8.4 metres. In future, around 74 million kilowatt hours per year will be generated here - enough for around 20,000 households.
Rethinking technology - a model for the future
The power plant is based on an innovative system concept with horizontally installed Kaplan turbines, which not only shortens the construction time, but also discharges flood water more efficiently. Thanks to the overflowable design, the plant can discharge 20 % more water than conventional plants in an emergency.
#It is #schongenial when a power plant not only supplies electricity, but also sets standards for the energy transition and flood protection of tomorrow.
