Linth-Limmern power plants

Kraftwerke Linth-Limmern AG (KLL)
legal form	Corporation
founding	June 25, 1957
Seat	Glarus South , Switzerland
management	Jörg Huwyler
Number of employees	51
sales	CHF 85.7 million
Branch	Electricity supply
Website	www.axpo.com/psw-limmern.html
As of September 30, 2017

Linth-Limmern power plants
Looking north. Limmernsee in the foreground, in the upper right half of the picture the dam of the Muttsee can be seen as a light line
location
Canton of Glarus , Switzerland
Coordinates	718 027  /  192 824 coordinates: 46 ° 52 '34 "  N , 8 ° 59' 13"  O ; CH1903:  718 027  /  one hundred and ninety-two thousand eight hundred and twenty-four
country	Switzerland  Glarus
place	Linthal GL
Waters	Linth
Data
Type	pumped storage power plant
Primary energy	water
power	Total turbines: 1439 MW Total pumps: 1174 MW
owner	Axpo Power : 85% Canton of Glarus : 15%
operator	Kraftwerke Linth-Limmern AG
Project start	1957
Construction time:	7 years
Start of operations	Storage power plant : 1964 NESTIL expansion : 2010 Linthal expansion 2015 : 2016
Shutdown	Cavern center Muttsee: 2017
turbine	5 pump turbines 5 Pelton turbines 2 Francis turbines 2 pumps
Energy fed in 2017/18	1.38 GWh
Website	www.axpo.com
was standing	2019

The Linth-Limmern AG (KLL) is a power plant company in Linthal in Glarus hinterland . The power plant started operating at the end of the 1960s and was supplemented by a large circulation plant in the 2010s .

history

System scheme of the KLL in 1968
Legend Muttsee 9 million m³ 2446  m Muttsee cavern center 4 MW Fätschbach open-air gallery (12 km) Limmernsee 92 million m³ 1875  m Fisetenbach gravity tunnel Hintersand compensation basin 110,000 m³ 1298  m Jetzbach gravity tunnel Tierfehd cavern center 295 MW 816  m Tierfehd compensation basin 210,000 m³ 812  m Headquarters Linthal 34 MW 683  m Linthal equalization basin 220,000 m³ 676  m Linth

The use of hydropower in the headwaters of the Linth was investigated early in the 1920s because it is close to large consumption areas. The aim was to build a reservoir on the Limmernboden, with which a drop height of more than 1000 m between the reservoir and the valley floor of the Glarus region could be exploited. The biggest obstacle to implementation was the feared water permeability of the Limmern soil, which made the area unsuitable for the construction of a reservoir, because the Limmernbach partially seeped away through cracks in the limestone soil of the Limmern basin. In addition, the area was difficult to access.

From 1922 to 1928 the St. Gallisch-Appenzellische Kraftwerke (SAK) carried out hydrological measurements. They came to the conclusion that the seepage losses were too great because one fifth of the water in the Limmernbach would seep away.

From 1944 onwards, the Nordostschweizerische Kraftwerke (NOK) carried out test drillings and measurements, the material for this campaign being brought by support columns from the Graubünden region over the Kistenpass to the Limmernboden. The results of the investigation showed that there were seepage losses in the basin, but that these were significantly lower than those determined by measurements in the 1920s. The project was not processed any further because sealing was judged to be costly and too unsafe.

In 1954 and 1955 the NOK had the area examined again by geologists , this time a helicopter with 480 flights brought 114 t of material to the Limmernboden, including accommodation barracks and drilling rigs. This time it came to the conclusion that sealing by cement injections was possible, so that an application for a license could be worked out, which was presented to the Glarus government on October 18, 1956.

Start of construction

Limmern arch dam

The Muttsee in summer

The concession to build the power plant was granted on March 30, 1957 by the district administrator. On May 5, the people approved the cantonal participation in the construction of the power station, so that the KLL could be entered in the commercial register on June 25, 1957. NOK held an 85% stake in the company and the Canton of Glarus 15%, although NOK's stake was later transferred to its successor company, Axpo.

Work on developing the construction site began that same year. The Limmernboden is an area that is difficult to access in terms of traffic. An 18 t cable car was installed by Tierfehd in the valley floor to transport the building materials, which was dismantled after the construction of the power plant and replaced by a smaller one-cabin train for personnel transport.

The Limmeren arch dam was completed in 1963. It dams the 92 million m³ Limmerensee , which forms the core of the power plant. Above the Limmerensee, the 9 million m³ Muttsee was built by filling an earth dam. The water from the facilities in the Muttsee cavern power station (between Muttsee and Limmerensee), the Tierfehd cavern power station (between Limmerensee and the Tierfehd equalization basin) and the Linthal power station (between Tierfehd and the Linthal equalization basin) are used.

• 

  Construction site of the Limmern arch dam, 1960

• 

  Two cars from the Zurich public transport company acted as “tunnel trams” to transport workers to the construction site

• 

  Material ropeway at the construction site

Expansion of NESTIL

The NESTIL project increased Tierfehd's pumping capacity from the existing 34 MW to a total of 174 MW for 100 million francs. For this purpose, a central shaft was built on the existing equalization basin, which is able to pump the water from the equalization basin back into the Limmernsee. Inside it is a four-stage 140 MW pump that sits on the same vertical shaft with a 100 MW Pelton turbine. The turbine is also used to synchronize the pump with the grid when it starts up . Construction began in the summer of 2005 and the construction period was four years.

Expansion of Linthal 2015

Plant scheme of the KLL after expansion of Linthal 2015

Legend Muttsee 23 million m³ 2474  m Cavern center Muttsee 4 MW 1870  m Limmern pumped storage plant 1000 MW 1706  m Fätschbach open-air gallery (12 km) Limmernsee 92 million m³ 1875  m Fisetenbach gravity tunnel Hintersand compensation basin 110,000 m³ 1298  m Jetzbach gravity tunnel Tierfehd cavern center 295 MW 816  m Tierfehd circulation system 140 MW 778  m Tierfehd compensation basin 455,000 m³ 812  m Headquarters Linthal 34 MW 683  m Linthal equalization basin 220,000 m³ 676  m Linth

With the Linthal 2015 project , the existing plant from the 1960s was supplemented with a powerful, underground pumped storage power plant . Water is pumped from the Limmernsee into the Muttsee , which is more than 600 m higher, and used again to generate electricity if necessary . The new plant has an output of 1000 MW in pump operation and turbine operation, which corresponds to around 80% of the output of the Leibstadt nuclear power plant or half of the output of the entire power plant on Lac des Dix . The output of the Linth-Limmern power plants has thus increased from around 520 MW to 1520 MW. When the Muttsee is completely full, the Limmern pumped storage plant can run at full load for 33 hours, which results in a storage capacity of 33 GWh.

construction

A construction time of seven years was expected for the realization. Up to 900 people worked on the various construction sites during the construction period. The investment costs for the major project came to CHF 2.1 billion. The project required an early new concession of the power stations, which was decided on October 24, 2007 by the district administrator. In September 2009, the groundbreaking ceremony in Linthal 2015 was marked with a first demolition. In autumn 2011, the first of the two pressure shafts of the Limmern power plant was completed, the cavern center had been excavated in spring 2012, and the second pressure shaft followed in 2013. In August 2013, there was a setback in the construction of the dam at the Muttsee: a whole block had to be removed again because the wrong concrete mix had been used. Up to 700 people were employed on the various construction sites. On December 18, 2015, the first machine group connected electricity to the grid. The last of the four machines was put into operation at the end of 2017.

As a precautionary measure, Axpo had to write-off its investment even before the plant was fully commissioned due to the low wholesale electricity prices . There was also a defect in the rotor of a turbine, for the repair of which the rotor had to be removed. Corrosion damage also made maintenance work on the other turbines necessary. In recent years, the KLL has lost around CHF 150 million a year because of Limmern, in which, according to Axpo, the canton of Glarus should participate in accordance with its share of the shares. An out-of-court agreement was reached in which it was determined that the canton of Glarus does not have to share in the losses of the Limmern pumped storage plant, but that it is not allowed to purchase any electricity until the 2027/28 financial year. For these reasons, from now on KLL has to keep a separate invoice for the PSW Limmern.

expansion

• Enlargement of the Muttsee : A new dam wall increases the storage capacity of the Muttsee. The 1054 m long gravity dam enables an increase from 9 million to 23 million m ³ . The storage target was of 2446  m above sea level. M. at 2474  m above sea level. M. raised. The last segment of the dam was concreted at the beginning of October 2014. The final construction and the flooding of the tunnels took place in 2015. The first damming and acceptance by the Federal Office of Energy took place in summer 2016. The opening ceremony and blessing of the dam took place on September 9, 2016. It is the first opening of a dam wall of comparable size in Switzerland since the Panixersee of the Ilanz power plant was put into operation in 1989 . The dam is the longest dam in Switzerland and the highest in Europe.
• New construction of the Limmern pumped storage plant : At the foot of the Limmernsee dam, at approx. 1700  m above sea level. M. , a new cavern center was built around 600 meters inside the mountain for the four machine groups, each with an output of 250 MW. Two parallel pressure lines connect the Muttsee with the headquarters and two 500-meter long underwater tunnels connect the headquarters with the Limmernsee. Access to the cavern is ensured from Tierfehd via a new, approximately 4-kilometer-long access tunnel, which is equipped with a 200-tonne funicular. The bore of this gallery was carried out with a 160 meter long tunnel boring machine . In 2011, it was bored 20 meters into the rock every day, with an incline of 24 percent, a world record. During the construction period, there were material ropeways from Tierfehd to Limmernsee and from Limmernsee to Muttsee with a load capacity of 25 tons. The builder of these ropeways, which were then dismantled again, was Doppelmayr / Garaventa .
• Enlargement of the Tierfehd compensation basin : The existing compensation basin was supplemented by another basin north of the company building. The storage capacity could be increased from 350,000 to around 455,000 m³.
• Construction of a new 380 kV line : The increase in output associated with the Linthal 2015 project requires the systems to be connected to the extra-high voltage network. The existing 220 kV overhead line from Tierfehd to Grynau near Uznach with two circuits was no longer sufficient. The two strings together can transmit a maximum of 1500 MW, whereby for operational and economic reasons normally no more than half of the possible output should be used. In addition, if a line had failed, the power plant would no longer have been able to use its full capacity. A new 380 kV overhead line from Tierfehd to the Schwanden / Sool area was therefore built for Linthal in 2015, parallel to the existing line. Here it was connected to the existing 380 kV line from the advance . The line consists of two alternating current circuits, one to Tavanasa in Graubünden , the other to Nürensdorf in the Zurich area .

Technical equipment

System scheme

All machine houses, reservoirs and compensation basins are located in the area of ​​the former municipality of Linthal GL , which today belongs to Glarus Süd . Only the upper water catchments of the Fätschbach are on the Urnerboden , which belongs to the canton of Uri . The water collected there is fed to the Limmernsee via a 12 km long gravity tunnel . Likewise, water from the Fisetenbach is fed to the Hintersand compensation basin via a gravity tunnel. Furthermore, water from the Sernftal is fed to the pressure tunnel between Hintersand and Tierfehd via the Jetzbach tunnel in a gravity line.

Scheme of the Linth-Limmern power plant

Reservoirs

Names	location	Installation	Traffic jam rate [m. ü. M.]	Reservoir content [million m³]	Construction of the dam	Height of the dam wall [m]	feeds machine houses	receives water from engine houses	comment
Muttsee	721122  /  191501	1965 (expansion 2016)	2446 2474	9 24	Earth wall gravity dam	35	Muttsee Limmern	Lick	Information before the expansion in 2016 in italics
Limmernsee	720189  /  188363	1968	1857	92	Arch dam	146	Limmern Tierfehd	Muttsee Limmern Tierfehd	Head storage

Engine houses

Headquarters	location	Location	Installation	Nacelle height [m. ü. M.]	el. power in MW	Turbines	Maximum raw head in m	Expansion flow in m³ / s	comment
Muttsee cavern center	720060  /  189569	Ox table	1965 shut down in 2017	1870	4th	1 Pelton turbine	560	0.9	replaced by the Limmern pumped storage plant
Limmern pumped storage plant Linthal 2015	720030  /  189849	Ox table	2017	1706	1000	4 vertical Francis pump turbines with variable-speed asynchronous motor-generators	724	200	Most powerful pumped storage plant in Switzerland
Cavern Central Tierfehd	718027  /  192824	Animal feud	1964	816	255	3 Pelton turbines	1046	30th	Storage power plant of the Limmernsee
					34	2 pumps	564	6.3	Pumping station that transports water from the Hintersand compensation basin to the Limmernsee
					40	2 Pelton turbines	486	10	Run-of-river power plant of the Hintersand compensation basin
Umwälzwerk Tierfehd NESTIL	717891  /  193068	Animal feud	2010	778	Pump: 140 turbine: 110	1 four-stage pump turbine with Pelton turbine as starting turbine	1050	Turbine: 15.3 Pump: 13.7	Pump storage plant between Limmernsee and Tierfehd equalization basin
Headquarters Linthal	718026  /  197228	Linthal	1964	683	34	2 Francis turbines	143	32	Storage power plant of the Tierfehd compensation basin

Equalization basin

Names	location	Installation	Traffic jam rate [m. ü. M.]	Reservoir volume [m³]	feeds machine houses	receives water from engine houses
Back sand	715585  /  188987	1964	1298	110,000	Animal feud
Animal feud 1	717760  /  192991	1964	811.5	210,000	Linthal animal feud	Animal feud
Animal feud 2	717770  /  193411	2016	811.5	245,000	Linthal animal feud	Animal feud
Linthal	718264  /  197400	1964	676	220,000		Linthal

literature

• The Linth-Limmern power plant project . In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung . tape 76 , 1958, pp. 377-380 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-63998 .
• Axpo (Ed.): Kraftwerke Linth-Limmern AG . Data sheet. 2016 ( axpo.com [PDF]).

Web links

Commons : Kraftwerke Linth-Limmern  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Limmern Pumped Storage Plant - A project is taking shape ; Video report on the construction of the pumped storage power plant from April 19, 2017
• Limmern pumped storage plant , dossier at axpo.ch (accessed on February 10, 2015).
• Guided tours of the Limmern pumped storage plant , axpo.ch (accessed March 30, 2019)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Swiss construction newspaper
2. ↑ Editorial . In: TEC21 . No. 13 , 2008, p. 3 .
3. ↑ Kraftwerke Linth-Limmern AG (ed.): Zukunft Wasserkraft - Linthal 2015 . Project NESTIL, S. 8 ( burkhalter-technics.ch [PDF]).
4. ^ Peter Vennemann: Future of electricity storage in pumped storage power plants . November 6, 2013, p. 24 ( fh-muenster.de [PDF]).
5. ↑ ^{a b} Kraftwerke Linth-Limmern AG (ed.): Project NESTIL . New construction of the Tierfehd circulating power plant. ( yumpu.com ).
6. ^ "Project of superlatives" for the first time online. In: 20 minutes. December 18, 2015 . 
7. ↑ “Linthal 2015” power plant is online. SRF, December 18, 2015 . 
8. ↑ Linth-Limmern power plants: General Assembly approves annual accounts 2016/17. In: ee-news.ch. 29th March 2018 . 
9. ↑ Annual Report 2015/16 , page 7
10. ↑ Dispute over millions - Axpo and Canton Glarus come to an agreement. SRF 1, Regionaljournal Ostschweiz, March 27, 2019, accessed on April 1, 2019 . 
11. ↑ PSW Limmern: Dam wall on the Muttenalp has passed water baptism. Axpo, August 31, 2016 . 
12. ↑ SRF 10vor10: Pumped storage power plant: Profitability in doubt ( Memento of the original from November 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , October 15, 2014. 
13. ^ Project Linthal 2015. In: Axpo. Retrieved September 18, 2012 . 
14. ↑ Axpo: Kraftwerke Linth-Limmern AG: Reclamation of the Limmernsee leads to increased annual production , media release of March 23, 2016.
15. ↑ Linth-Limmern KLL pumped storage power plant (Axpo). Supply network and network connection. In: RAOnline EDU. Retrieved March 30, 2019 . 
16. ↑ Project planning and construction of the 380 kV overhead line Tierfehd - Schwanden (pdf)
17. ↑ Federal Office for Water Management (Ed.): Statistics of hydropower plants in Switzerland . 1st January 1973.
18. ^ The Linth-Limmern power plant in the canton of Glarus . In: Appenzell calendar . tape 246 , 1967, doi : 10.5169 / seals-375874 .
19. ↑ Thomas Kunz: PSW with variable pump capacity. Alstom, August 11, 2012, p. 8 .