Ottensheim-Wilhering Run-of-River Power Plant

VERBUND's power plant of Ottensheim-Wilhering is a run-of-river plant situated on the Danube and in the municipality of Wilhering in Upper Austria.

The power plant was built between 1970 and 1974 with the financial participation of Energie AG Oberösterreich and Salzburg AG.
For the first time in a Danube power plant in Austria, Kaplan bulb turbines with horizontal shaft were installed instead of the previously used Kaplan turbines with vertical shaft at the Ottensheim-Wilhering power plant. This arrangement of the machine sets enables a lower construction and better integration of the power plant building into the surrounding landscape.

Europe’s longest fish bypass, created by the LIFE+ Network Danube project, has been in operation since 2016.

 

Revitalisation project Ottensheim 29

The Danube power plant Ottensheim-Wilhering will be completely overhauled by 2029. The revitalisation of the generators and turbines in Ottensheim-Wilhering will supply additional electricity from hydropower for 16,000 households by 2029.

Europe's longest fish pass

Europe's largest fish pass at the Danube power plant Ottensheim-Wilhering has a length of more than 14 kilometres. The fish pass was completed in 2016 in the course of the EU project LIFE Network Danube.

Fish pass Ottensheim-Wilhering

Ottensheim-Wilhering29

Freshly overhauled turbines, more efficient generators and thus more electricity from the Danube: all of this is will be delivered by the revitalisation project Ottensheim 29.

Project Ottensheim 29
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Owner VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH
Operator VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH
Commissioning 1974
Type Run-of-river power plant
Country Austria
Region Upper Austria
Waters Danube
Output 179 MW
Annual output 1,153,163 MWh
Turbine Kaplan
Connectivity Fish bypass
Environmental protection at VERBUND

In Ottensheim, VERBUND and its partners, together with support from the EU LIFE+ programme, constructed Europe’s biggest fish bypass to date in a period of just two years: A 14.2 kilometre-long bypass arm via the Innbach-Aschach channel with a seasonally adjusted water supply from the Danube and from the natural drainage dynamics of the tributaries. This bypass channel best meets the high ecological and technical requirements placed on continuity for fish. In addition, the natural design of the channel with deep sections (potholes), fords and bays creates further habitats for fish and other animals.

The bypass arm itself does not lie within a Natura2000 area but is an important link between the Natura2000 areas along the Danube and their tributaries. In addition to the linking of these areas, important stepping stone biotopes are being created which provide important support for interaction between the populations in the protected areas.

 
More about the EU-LIFE+-Program
The powerhouse, the five-field weir system and the double lock form – as at all Danube power plants – a closed bar, supplemented with open-air switchgear and a workshop building on the south bank.

Turbines and generators: Nine horizontally installed Kaplan bulb turbines with a bottleneck capacity of 179 MW and a standard working capacity of 1,153 GWh.

Weir system: The technical equipment of the five weir fields consists of lifting-lowering gates with chain drive and electromechanical winches.