Hydropower Windisch: riverbank of tailwater canal to be renewed

24.08.2023 - Over the next few months, Axpo will be renovating parts of the bank in the tailwater canal of the Windisch power plant. In this way, the hydropower specialists will ensure that the small hydropower plant can continue to make a reliable contribution to security of supply.

In the tailwater canal, about 600 metres downstream of the Windisch small hydropower plant, individual slipped bank structures and eroded foundations were discovered during inspections. In order to prevent further slippage and erosion, Axpo will be restoring the bank in this area over the next few weeks. The cost of the remediation is around CHF 400,000.

The bank will be secured in sections with granite blocks and the undercutting will be filled with underwater concrete. The granite stones will be delivered by lorry and reloaded onto a floating platform at the installation site in Unterwindisch and transported to the installation site. There they will be installed with the support of a diver. The work will start at the end of August and is expected to last until October 2023.

The Windisch power plant is a small hydroelectric power plant operated by Axpo. The three machine groups have an output of 1.5 megawatts and thus produce 11.7 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. This corresponds to the consumption of around 2600 average four-person households.