Ybbs-Persenbeug: turbine tuning on the home stretch

With the lifting into place of the last of a total of 6 new turbines, an important milestone in the Ybbs2020 project has been reached. The new impeller weighs 113 tonnes and had to be lifted into place with maximum precision by a gantry crane. Despite the enormous size of 7.4 metres, a gap of only one millimetre remains between the turbine and the shaft.

Spectacular heavy load lifts have become part of the annual routine for the team of the Danube power plant Ybbs-Persenbeug. Despite its enormous mass, the precious load has to be lowered in slow motion. Coordination between the VERBUND installation team and the crane driver is critical to the success of the operation. For all the experience available, concentration is also required the sixth time around. 
The impeller is an international cooperation with a high proportion of domestic value added. The rough casting of the vanes comes from Finland, the construction from Graz. The Kaplan impeller was assembled on site in Ybbs by the assembly team of VERBUND.

Electricity from hydropower for generations to come

By investing more than €144m in the project, the revitalisation of all six machine sets will increase generation by more than 77 million kilowatt hours (kWh) to a total of 1.4 billion kWh and further improve reliability. The six old Kaplan turbines are being replaced, the generators modernised, the control systems improved. This efficiency increase of 6% corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of 22,000 households.
The measures at the existing Ybbs-Persenbeug power plant will – without having to make structural interventions in the surrounding area – enable electricity generation from hydropower to increase significantly and thus save an additional 62,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.