Vermuntwerk raises output after 95 million euro overhaul

The Vermuntwerk hydropower plant in Partenen has completed a 95 million euro overhaul, increasing its annual electricity production, ORF reported. Operator illwerke vkw said the work modernised the plant’s machinery, powerhouse and other infrastructure.

The plant’s improved efficiency is expected to lift annual production from 270 to 286 gigawatt-hours. The project replaced five machine sets with two six-nozzle horizontal Pelton turbines, which use high-pressure water jets to generate electricity. The company said this design is rarely used worldwide and puts it at the forefront of the technology.

The powerhouse will now be heated using waste heat from the turbines. The company said coordinating the work over about 18 months while the plant remained in operation was technically and logistically challenging. This included draining the Vermuntsee reservoir while preventing uncontrolled movements of sediment, for which a dedicated sediment-management plan was developed.

Illwerke vkw board member Gerd Wegeler described the overhaul as an investment in the future of renewable energy, combining the preservation of infrastructure with modern technology and more efficient use of available water resources.

When it began operating in 1930, the Vermuntwerk was the first large-scale facility built by Vorarlberger Illwerke and Austria’s most powerful hydropower plant. It has been modernised repeatedly since then. The plant is scheduled to officially reopen at an open day on Saturday, October 17.