Energy from water – clean electricity for Dorfgastein

The Austrian Federal Forestry Office (Österreichische Bundesforste AG or ÖBf) has special responsibility for the natural resources and habitats of the Republic of Austria. Sustainability is the number one principle here: only take out as much as grows back.

In order to be able to supply around 1,000 households with clean electricity in future, the ÖBf decided to build a
new small-scale hydropower plant in the district of Dorfgastein. This is a modern high-pressure power plant which,
in future, will use energy from the water of the Luggauerbach. This new power plant has been constructed in
accordance with the highest ecological standards, using environmentally friendly construction methods. For example, the minimum residual flow value of the stream has been determined according to the latest legal requirements. In order to keep the encroachment into the natural landscape of the Gastein valley as low as possible, the width of the route during construction was limited to 6 m. Once commissioned, the small hydropower plant with an installed capacity of 1,099 KW should save approximately 3,400 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year.

Backfilling the pipe trench with the soil previously excavated

The project sponsor, ÖBf Wasserkraft GesmbH, decided in favour of using ductile iron pipes from TRM – Tiroler Rohre GmbH for the penstock pipeline. 1,630 m of DN 500 pressure pipes were installed, equipped with VRS^®-T positive
locking push-in joints. This choice of product avoided the necessity of constructing thrust blocks all along the route, e.g. by encasing bends in concrete, thereby reducing overall building costs.

Technical data:

• Capacity 1,099 kW
• Production 4,050 MWh
• Pressure pipe 1,630 m ductile iron pipes, VRS^®-T, DN 500
• Fall 270 m
• Nominal discharge 500 l/s
• Turbine 1x 4-nozzle Pelton
• Construction time May – July 2017