Gries power plant: first electricity supplied to the grid
VERBUND and Salzburg AG are investing around 50 million euros in the joint venture project involving the Salzach power plant in Gries, which is being constructed in the Pinzgau region of the province of Salzburg. With a capacity of 8.85 megawatts and an annual generated output of 42 million kilowatt hours, it will generate CO2-free electricity from hydropower for more than 10,000 households.
Machine 2 has been supplying electricity to the grid since last week. Before that, the concrete construction was completed and the weir system and all safety components put into operation at the end of July. The damming of the Salzach then commenced on 14 August. Even if the weir system is already running in automatic mode, the control system is monitored around the clock by colleagues of the Kaprun plant group.
The damming of the river is going to plan. The reservoir is currently 0.5 m below its final level. The goal is to report Machine 2 ready for operation at the end of August. The main components of Machine 1 - impeller, shaft and generator - were delivered in the first half of August and have mostly been installed. Their commissioning is planned to take 7 weeks.
Hannes Badura, the project manager, is also pleased with the project's progress: "The original commissioning was planned for February 2019. Thanks to the professional cooperation on the project team - including in the face of extraordinary events - an optimised schedule was possible and the commissioning brought forward to the autumn of 2018. Having had VERBUND colleagues handle the planning during the construction phase at VERBUND has paid off.
However, the Gries power plant will continue to employ the project team for some time until final completion of the project. Work will continue until around mid-2019 to complete the underwater deepening, the fish bypass and ecological measures. Finally, the project will be audited by the UVP authority.
More about the project: www.verbund.com/gries
