Spectacular Dismantling of Pylons in Kaprun

15.02.2010Vienna

Limberg II demands a new high-performance overhead line. More than three kilometres of the old line will now be dismantled. The section close to the residential area will thus be line-free.

The new line is far away from inhabited properties
A spectacular pole removal took place in Kaprun during the course of the dismantling of a 220 kV line: A 50-meter-high and 35-ton-heavy power pole was removed in front of the eyes of numerous interested individuals. The installation of a modern, high-performance 380 kV overhead line from the Wasserfallboden reservoir right through to the Tauern transformer station was made necessary by the construction of the Limberg II pumped storage power plant. A total of eleven poles and 3.2 km of 220 kV line can be removed in the Schaufelberg area on account of the construction of the new 380 kV overhead line from the Wasserfallboden right through to the Tauern transformer station. Not only is the new line positioned far away from inhabited properties, but it also saves almost one kilometre of total line length.

Strain removed from tourism region
"The strain is being lastingly removed from this popular tourism region," say the two delighted Verbund board chairmen, Michael Amerer (VERBUND Hydro Power AG) and Heinz Kaupa (Austrian Power Grid AG), as well as Kaprun Mayor Norbert Karlsböck.

Protection of sensitive areas
Alongside five agricultural properties, some 200 people in the Hartl residential area and in the West industrial centre benefit from the dismantling of the two 220 kV overhead lines above the Schaufelberg. "Great importance has been placed on the protection of sensitive areas in the planning of the new 380 kV overhead line. It illustrates that line projects and quality of life for local people and tourists are not a contradiction in terms," Amerer and Kaupa emphasise.

Kaprun: an important European power plant site
Kaprun does not just play a major role for domestic Austrian power supply: With its existing power plants, as well as Limberg II pumped storage power plant, currently in construction, and Limberg III pumped storage power plant, in the planning phase, Kaprun will become an important power plant site in Europe. Furthermore, with the Tauern transformer station, Kaprun also represents a major intersection in the future 380 kV high-voltage ring for Austria’s supply security.