Sölk Storage Power Plant

VERBUND's power plant of Sölk is a storage power plant and situated east of the town of Stein in the municipality of Großsölk in Styria. It was constructed from 1975 until 1978.

With their large catchment areas and high annual water loads, the Sölk Valleys (Sölktäler) made the construction of a hydropower plant particularly economical. At a geological site also favourable for its terrain, a daily storage was constructed in the Großsölktal which terminates in a 39 metre-tall vaulted wall. The water from the Kleinsölkbach, the Donnersbach and the Walchenbach is fed into the reservoir. These water volumes are used for electricity generation by a Francis turbine in the Stein power house. On average, around 47,500 households can be supplied each year with electricity generated entirely from hydropower.

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Owner	VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH
Operator	VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH
Commissioning	1978
Type	Storage power plant
Country	Austria
Region	Styria
Waters	Grosssölkbach, Enns
Output	61 MW
Annual output	209,986 MWh
Turbine	Francis
Connectivity	No fish bypass

Ecology & environmental protection

The power plant is not equipped with a fish bypass and one is not being planned as this would not deliver any ecological added value in a diversion-type power plant.

The entire plant group of the Styrian hydropower plants has been awarded the environmental certificate ISO 14001. The power plants on the rivers Mur and Enns not only fulfil the statutory requirements but also focus on high environmental standards and technical innovations. The goal is the efficient use of hydropower and the balance between economy and ecology. The effectiveness and benefit of the environmental management system are mainly the responsibility of our employees, who undergo constant training and development in this area.

Wherever ecologically valuable and technically feasible, VERBUND has set itself the goal of guaranteeing the continuity of flow for domestic fish and aquatic life at the locations of its hydropower plants. By 2025, VERBUND will invest 280 million euros on the implementation of fish bypasses and other ecological structural measures.

Our latest conservation projects

Turbines and generators: The power plant has a vertically installed Francis turbine with a nominal output of 61,000 kW. The impeller has a diameter of 2.5 metres for an intake capacity of 34 m³/sec. The directly coupled 70,000 kVA three-phase synchronous generator has a nominal voltage of 10.5 kV.

Transformers: A 70,000 kVA machine transformer raises the generated energy to 110 kV. For supplying the plant’s own requirements, there is a transformer bank consisting of three 83.4 kVA single-phase transformers which convert the generated energy from 6 kV to 230 V.