Project Hydropower Plant "Iller Au" - An Ecological Compatible Hydropower Plant with Dynamic Regulation of Operation Water Level

The article reports about the project development process to the point of the initial operation of a VLH-turbine with two rubber dams including an outlet-dependency on the regulation of operation water level. The characteristic of this power plant, situated on the river Iller in Sulzberg near Kempten, is a low head between 1.4 and 2.3 m as well as the local conditions. The use of the VLH-technique in a mountain river and in combination with a dynamic regulation of retention water level elevation is so far unique. To improve the annual output of approximately 3.9 million kWh/a, the retention water level elevation will be triggered for a defined schedule and therefore the ecological changes of the aquatic ecology will be minimized. The realization of this project supports the strategy of the Bavarian government in a program for small power plants with an installed capacity < 1 MW. In this context the Bavarian government focuses also on innovative concepts of water power plants, which represent a special water-compatible kind of water power as "ecological water power stations". For realization of this project a joint company, the Illerkraftwerk Au GmbH was established by AUW and the Bavarian Landeswasserkraftwerke GmbH.