VERBUND's power plant at Schwarzach is a storage power plant and situated in the municipality in Schwarzach in Salzburg. It was constructed from 1954 until 1960.
The Schwarzach, Wallnerau-Salzach and Wallnerau-Unterwasser power plants form a unique combination of three power plants in the tightest of spaces and are, as it were, the lower stage of the Kaprun storage power plants. In total, the three Kaplan turbines generate 540 GWh of electricity annually entirely from hydropower.
Owner: VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH
Operator: VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH
Commissioning: 1960
Type: Storage power plant
Country: Austria
Region: Salzburg
Waters: Salzach
Output: 120 MW
Annual output: 486,441 MWh
Turbine: Francis
Connectivity: Fish bypass
The Schwarzach power plant is a medium-pressure, diversion-type power plant with a daily storage facility. It uses the gradient of the Salzach between the Högmoos weir system at Taxenbach and Schwarzach and consists of a three-field weir system, the approx. 17 km-long concrete lined headrace tunnel, the Brandstatt compensation basin and an approx. 0.9 km-long reinforced pressure shaft as well as the Schwarzach powerhouse with the 110 kV open-air switchgear.
The Högmoos weir system consists of three weir fields which are closed by a segment gate with flap. The water flows from the inlet structure along the 17 km-long concrete-lined headrace tunnel to the powerhouse.
This daily storage facility with a capacity of approx. 1.8 million m³ enables extensive adjustment of the power plant’s operation to daily peak requirements.
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Since 2015, fish in the Salzach have been able to migrate from the headwater to the tailwater and vice versa at the Högmoos weir. The fish ladder has a length of around 170 metres and overcomes a height difference of around 8 metres. It was designed entirely as a vertical slot pass. You can find more information about the fish ladder here.
VERBUND also implemented structural measures at the Schwarzach power plant in 2015. The residual water section was structured over a length of around 3 kilometres by installing guide structures and groynes. This created different flow zones and more habitats for all fish species in the residual water section.
