A total of Euro63.5M (US$90.6M) was invested to build the 16MW project on the river Salzach in the province of Salzburg.
The plant is expected to generate approximately 76.5GWh of electricity annually – half of the total over May-Aug each year.
Included in the project was a Euro1.1M (US$1.57M) investment in a fish ladder.
The project was planned and designed by Poyry, Werner Consult and the Institute for Ecology.
Verbund’s involvement in the project was through its subsidiary Austrian Hydro Power AG.
In the half year to 30 June, Verbund increased hydro power generation by 4% to 519GWh compared to the same period of 2008.
Verbund said it benefited from higher storage levels as well as river flows, especially in the first quarter. However, the extra power came into a weakened spot market that did not deliver a commensurate rise in revenues.
