Upgrading Power Plants Handeck 2 and Innertkirchen 1

The already 60 year old installations of Innertkirchen 1 and Handeck 2 Power Plants will be upgraded. New pressure shafts will lower friction losses and incorperating two new machines will increase  capacity by 240 megawatts. A new stilling basin before the water goes back into the Aare in Innerkirchen will bring ecological improvement.

Most Important Construction Stages:
Upgrading Innertkirchen 1:

• Separate plant Innertkirchen 1a with new 150 MW Pelton turbine
• Parallel pressure shaft from Kapf surge chamber to Innertkirchen 1

• parallel conduit from Lake Räterichsboden Handeckfluh surge chamber
• parallel pressure shaft from Handeckfluh surge chamber to Handeck 2
• Separage plant  Handeck 2a with new 90 MW Pelton turbine
• Stilling basin in Innertkirchen (see Ecological Energy)

Benefit/Facts & Figures:

• Increase in energy through reduction of friction loss in existing conduit system: 70 GWh per year
• Increased capacity: 280 MW 
  (240 MW with two new machines, 40 MW in existing machines)
• Investment 305 million Francs (as at 2011, +/- 15 %)
  (15 million CHF for stilling basin and tailwater tunnel)
• Construction time: 5 years