Power Plobb - waste water power for Seefeld

FLEISCHHACKER, E. (2010):

In the course of the modernisation of the old sewerage facility operated by the Tyrolean municipality of Seefeld in the last few years, an alternative solution was implemented following the successful bid made by ARGE OPTI in the framework of an EU-wide tendering process. The treated waste water is now no longer discharged along a 9 km channel into the Isar near Scharnitz to the north, but into the much bigger River Inn to the south via a 6.5 km long pressure pipe. The vertical drop from the Seefeld Plateau to the Inn Valley involves a head of 625 m, which permits water power to be used to generate electricity at the same time. In a normal year, the waste water power plant generates approx. 5.5 million kilowatt hours of green electricity, which is used to operate the sewage plant and pump station and to supply approx. 1000 private households. The new system is not only an attractive solution for hydropower and water conservation in a tourism region; it also makes a contribution to ecological, economic and social sustainability.