VERBUND Innkraftwerk Stammham: New Gantry Crane for the Power Plant

The VERBUND Innkraftwerke GmbH, which is also the operator of 14 hydropower plants on the river Inn, has exchanged its two gantry cranes for new ones. On 16 July 2014, the completely new crane was delivered and mounted, the second one should follow in mid-August. The crane and its components were spectacularly hoisted in the air, put together and then mounted. Gantry cranes are essential components of a power plant facility, and are needed to make sure the electricity production takes place smoothly. The works are anticipated to last until September. At the same time, new gantry cranes will also be installed in autumn 2014 at the Rosenheim power plant.

"The gantry cranes we've had until now have been active since the power plant went into operation in 1955. Now they have reached the end of their life span and have to be renewed", says project manager Stefan Wolf.

The gantry cranes were produced by the KW Kranwerke AG company in Mannheim- this is a specialist company working all over Europe, which produces large cranes. The individual pieces were delivered in the past weeks and put together by the crane-building company at the Stammham power plant. On 16 July, the pre-assembled components will be raised into position, connected together and placed on the power plant's crane runway. Each gantry crane weighs 100 tonnes and is 14 metres tall, 35 metres long and moves on the 15 metre wide crane runway, which is nearly 300 metres long and runs over the power plant and the weir facility, where it can then be optimally positioned. Gantry cranes fulfil important functions in a run-of-river power plant: they are needed for the inspection of the turbines and weir fields, i.e. to put the bulkhead gate in place and to transport heavy parts. They are also used for general work undertaken in a power plant and for flood relief operations to remove large amounts of flood debris. "Without gantry cranes, it just wouldn't work", says Wolf and emphasises the important contribution of both cranes to the safe-guarding of smooth-running electricity production.

The Stammham Run-of-River Power Plant

Electricity from hydropower is among the sustainable and above all, CO2-free energy forms, which are constantly and reliably available. The Stammham river Inn power plant generates a yearly average of around 136 million kWh of electricity from hydropower, which corresponds to the yearly requirements of around 39,000 households. Compared to modern coal-fired power plants, just under 110,000 tonnes of CO2 are avoided every year. The Inn power plant is a reliable and local financial partner as well as a stable employer in the region.

The Stammham power plant was constructed from 1952 to 1955 by Innwerk AG, using what is called the pancake construction method. The plant is made up of a weir on the right riverbank and includes a left bank power house made up of 3 vertical Kaplan turbines and 3 DC three-phase generators.