Graz-Puntigam power plant

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Graz-Puntigam power plant
Murkraftwerk Graz in partial test operation in June 2019
Murkraftwerk Graz in partial test operation in June 2019
location
Graz-Puntigam power plant (Styria)
Graz-Puntigam power plant
Coordinates 47 ° 2 '17 "  N , 15 ° 26' 41"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 2 '17 "  N , 15 ° 26' 41"  E
country Austria
place Graz
Waters Mur
f1
power plant
Start of planning 2009
construction time 2017-2019
Start of operation October 9, 2019
technology
Bottleneck performance 17.7 megawatts
Average
height of fall 		9.7 m
Expansion flow 200 m³ / s
Standard work capacity 82 million kWh / year
Turbines 2 Kaplan turbines
Others
Website www.murkraftwerkgraz.at

The Graz-Puntigam power plant (also known as the Mur power plant in Graz ) is a run-of-river power plant operated by Energie Steiermark . It is located on the Mur and is in the southern urban area of Graz , about 600 meters upstream from the Puntigamer Bridge.

The power plant

The first concrete plans for a power plant in the area were made in 2009. In January 2017, construction of the power plant began. In June 2019, partial test operation of the turbines began. Regular operations began on October 9, 2019.

The power plant has an installed capacity of 17.7  MW and produces a standard energy capacity of 82  GWh of electrical energy per year. The planned water level is 9.65 meters with a flow rate of 200 m³ / s. The power plant is located between the 18 MW Gössendorf run -of- river power plant located about 5  km downstream , which has been in operation since 2012, and the 15.6 MW Weinzödl run-of-river power plant about 9 km upstream, which has been in operation since 1982.

The rumored costs for the power plant construction amount to around 80 million euros, of which Energie Steiermark holds 37.5% and Energie Graz 12.5%. In mid-February 2017, it became known that Verbund AG was acquiring a share of 12.5% ​​in the power plant company. Verbund AG was once considered a 50 percent partner, but withdrew in 2016. In addition, it should take over operational control.

Verbund AG currently operates 19 other hydropower plants on the Mur and 40 hydropower plants throughout Styria . These are controlled and monitored in the central control room in Pernegg south of Bruck an der Mur .

Because of the damming up of the water - the reservoir root is supposed to be level with the Murinsel in Graz - dams had to be built that are more than three meters high at the power plant site. These should extend upstream to the level of the soap factory and become evenly lower.

Simultaneously with the construction of the Mur power plant, a central storage sewer (including a collection and relief sewer) will be built for a further 80 million euros. This should improve the water quality and prevent faeces from getting into the Mur. In heavy rain, rainwater currently mixes with faeces from the overflowing Graz sewer system . Sewage and faeces are then flushed into the Mur. The simultaneous construction of the power plant and storage channel should bring financial benefits to both projects.

criticism

Even during the initial planning phases, the population had concerns about the construction project. In addition to economic aspects, fears about far-reaching ecological changes were or are points of friction. For example, conservationists criticize the fact that the Mur river and the resulting slower flow of water are destroying spawning grounds and habitats for fish stocks. Tree clearing led to conflicts, not least as a result of the varying information on the trees to be felled by the client (800 trees) and opponents (17,000 trees).

The citizens' initiative Rettet die Mur collected signatures for a referendum and was able to submit the application with the required number of signatures in September 2016. The local council rejected the request on the grounds that the decision was not within the city's sphere of activity, as a state company was building the power plant. Objections to this were rejected by the Regional Administrative Court and the Administrative Court in Vienna .

Since the tree clearing began in early February 2017, the construction site has been occupied several times by activists and protests against the project have been organized.

According to the clients, extensive measures have been taken to minimize ecological damage. The fish population should be spared and the wood should be reforested. In addition, there should be an overall upgrade in the area around the new power plant.

Liebenau forced labor camp

Since the construction site is in the direct vicinity of the former location of the Graz-Liebenau forced labor camp , the operator Energie Steiermark and the city of Graz commissioned a study on the history of the camp. The construction work was accompanied by archaeologists from the Federal Monuments Office .

A memorial plaque is to be unveiled in September 2020.

Bomb finds during construction

On March 28, 2018, an atypically shaped 50 kilogram bomb was found near the gas pipe bridge. Angergasse and the cycle path on the Mur were closed for some time within a radius of 200 meters.

On June 18, 2018, a 250-kilogram aerial bomb was found without an impact fuse.

On the morning of November 9, 2018, an excavator driver found a 250-kilogram explosive bomb on the right bank. The construction work was interrupted until it was removed in the morning.

fire

On Saturday, April 25, 2020, shortly before midnight, a fire broke out on the construction site that affected several cable drums and construction materials and which the Graz fire brigade could quickly extinguish. In the absence of other causes of fire, the police assume arson.

Picture gallery

  • Planned, completed Mur power plant in Graz including power plant park (in the picture to the right of the power plant). View towards Graz center. (Project illustration around 2016)

  • The dams along the Mur become lower - upstream - and end at the level of the soap factory (left in the picture) (Feb. 15, 2017)

  • Siege of an excavator by opponents of the power plant on February 15, 2017.

Web links

Commons : Murkraftwerk Graz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Submission project for the EIA procedure - Murkraftwerk Graz. State of Styria, accessed February 15, 2017.
  2. ↑ a b c Grazer Mur power plant officially in operation. In: orf.at . October 9, 2019, accessed October 9, 2019.
  3. ↑ Mur power plant: Construction of ombudsman In: orf.at . December 29, 2016, accessed February 15, 2017.
  4. ^ Mur power plant: first turbine started. In: orf.at . June 24, 2019, accessed June 24, 2019.
  5. ↑ Construction work in the final: water is already running through the turbine in the Mur power plant in Graz. In: kleinezeitung.at . June 25, 2019, accessed July 1, 2019.
  6. ^ Mur power plant in Graz. ( Memento from February 16, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) In: e-steiermark.com , accessed on February 15, 2017.
  7. ↑ Mur power plant: Verbund joins with 12.5 percent. In: kurier.at . February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  8. ↑ Mur power plant: VERBUND takes a stake in the Mur power plant in Graz and takes over future operations management. In: ots.at . February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  9. ↑ Who is planning the Mur power plant in Graz-Puntigam? Architektur Steiermark, 10 August 2010, accessed on 15 February 2017.
  10. ↑ Folder our Mur - Green Electricity. ( Memento from February 16, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) In: e-steiermark.com . Retrieved February 15, 2017 (PDF; 19 MB).
  11. ↑ Indirect decision about Mur power plant. In: orf.at . September 22, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  12. ↑ Construction of the storage sewer : Graz conservationists are sounding the alarm. In: derstandard.at . March 1, 2016, accessed February 15, 2017.
  13. ↑ Concern for fish stocks in the Mur. In: orf.at . June 21, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  14. ↑ Murkraftwerk: The first trees have fallen. In: kurier.at . February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  15. ↑ Gerald Winter-Pölsler: Almost there: 10,242 signatures for the referendum. In: kleinezeitung.at. October 13, 2016, accessed October 11, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Walter Müller: According to a lawyer, Graz should allow a referendum on the Mur power plant. In: derstandard.at. January 13, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017 .
  17. ↑ Murkraftwerk opponents flash off at the administrative court. In: derstandard.at. July 11, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017 .
  18. ↑ Murkraftwerk: Protest camp cleared. , In: orf.at . February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  19. ^ Murkraftwerk: activists occupied construction site. In: orf.at . February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  20. ↑ Blocking costs up to 2000 euros per hour. In: kleinezeitung.at . February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  21. ^ Murkraftwerk Graz: Catalog of ecological measures. ( Memento of February 16, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) In: e-steiermark.com , accessed on February 15, 2017 (PDF; 3.78 MB).
  22. ↑ Christian Dürr: The former forced labor camp in Graz Liebenau - On dealing with a long-suppressed topic of contemporary history. In: mauthausen-memorial.org. Mauthausen Memorial, September 14, 2017, accessed on October 11, 2017 .
  23. ↑ Hannah Michaeler: Liebenau camp: memorial plaque comes on September 11th. In: krone.at . August 13, 2020, accessed on August 18, 2020.
  24. ↑ Air bomb defused at Mur power plant construction. In: orf.at . March 28, 2018, accessed November 12, 2018.
  25. ↑ A bomb discovered near the Mur power plant. In: orf.at . June 19, 2018, accessed November 12, 2018.
  26. ↑ Air bomb found near the Mur power station in Graz. In: orf.at . November 9, 2018, accessed November 12, 2018.
  27. ^ Arson at Murkraftwerk construction site orf.at, April 26, 2020, accessed April 26, 2020.