Power plant data
Owner: VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH
Operator: VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH
Commissioning: 1959
Type: Run-of-river power plant
Country: Austria
Region: Lower Austria
Waters: Danube
Output: 237 MW
Annual output: 1,415,000 MWh
Turbine: Kaplan
Ybbs-Persenbeug
Run-of-River Power Plant
VERBUND's power plant at Ybbs-Persenbeug is a run-of-river plant situated on the Danube and in the municipality of Ybbs and Persenbeug in Lower Austria.
The VERBUND power plant Ybbs-Persenbeug was Austria’s first power plant on the Danube and is located in the municipality of Ybbs, Persenbeug-Gottsdorf and Hofamt Priel in Lower Austria. At Ybbs-Persenbeug, the oldest run-of-river power plant on the Danube, not only the impellers are active. The many cyclists that use the Danube cycle path have also discovered the Danube and the power station as a popular excursion destination. The power plant nestles in a beautiful natural landscape, and the wonderful impressions in Strudengau and Nibelungengau thrill visitors.
Technical description
After the Second World War, Ybbs-Persenbeug was one of the most prestigious projects in Austria’s reconstruction.
The south and north powerhouses with machines 1 to 6: The power plant has a total of six main machine sets with vertically installed Kaplan turbines and a total nominal output of 200,000 kW. Three of them are located in the north and three in the south power plant.
The two auxiliary sets of machinery in the separation columns each consist of a Kaplan turbine from 1957 and 1958 with an output of 1,765 kW and 2,500 kW respectively and a generator.
The powerhouse of machine 7: With an impeller diameter of 7.5 metres, the horizontally installed Kaplan bulb turbine is one of the largest Kaplan bulb turbines in Europe. This seventh machine delivers a maximum output of 48,000 kW with a head of 10.9 metres.
Weir system: The fields of the weir system are equipped with double hook gates.
Ybbs2020: Machine replacement and revitalisation
The machines from the 1950s were replaced over many years of work. Following completion of the project in 2022, the Danube power plant Ybbs-Persenbeug has been generating electricity for an additional 22,000 households. We documented the fascinating work as it happened.
Excursion destination Danube power station Ybbs Persenbeug
The Ybbs-Persenbeug visitor centre provides an insight into the oldest of Austria's Danube power plants. VERBUND is investing around 144 million euros in modernisation and efficiency improvements by 2020. The additional generation obtained as a result corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of 17,000 households.
Ybbs-Persenbeug
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Ecology & environmental protection
The Ybbs-Persenbeug run-of-river power plant does not currently provide continuity for fish. As part of the LIFE Blue Belt Danube Inn project, the power plant will be upgraded with a fish pass in the coming years.
The power plants reservoir is connected to Melk beneath the power plant. There, in the area of the “Ybbser Scheibe”, new gravel banks and islands were created as habitats and spawning grounds for fish, with support from the EU-LIFE+ programme.
