| Owner | VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH |
|---|---|
| Operator | VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH |
| Commissioning | 1985 |
| Type | Run-of-river power plant |
| Country | Austria |
| Region | Carinthia |
| Waters | Drava |
| Output | 25 MW |
| Annual output | 93,193 MWh |
| Turbine | Kaplan |
| Connectivity | Fish bypass |
The two new fish bypasses in Paternion and Kellerberg, which were completed in 2015 and 2016, combined with the fish bypasses installed in previous years at the VERBUND power plants in Villach and Rosegg, have made it possible for fish to swim along the Drava again over a distance of 135 kilometres for the first time in decades. The fish bypasses on the Drava are particularly important for medium-range migratory species such as the nase and the barbel, which carry out extensive spawning migrations upstream. The Danube salmon, the largest fish species (up to one metre in length), is also benefiting from the ecological measures.
The fish bypass at the Kellerberg power plant: the bypass of the power plant runs along the existing old course, the so-called Kellerberg Loop. The Kellerberg Loop, the former riverbed of the Drava before the power plant was built, is an old course that is connected to the Drava on the tailwater side via a basin pass. The Kellerberg Loop is fed via the ground water and the Kellerberger Bach, which is fed into the old course through a culvert under the Drava. The areas involved essentially consist of three sections with a total length of around 4 km in order to overcome the total height difference of 9.3 metres: a basin pass in the headwater, the Kellerberg Loop habitat and a basin pass in the tailwater.
The functionality of the fish bypasses on the Drava is continuously monitored. This is supported by a video monitoring system – the so-called FishCam – developed jointly with the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences. The migrating fish are captured visually, identified and subsequently recorded in a database and professionally evaluated.
