WWF demand:

Change Tiwag plan so that Platzertal does not sink

The previously untouched Platzertal valley with its unique high alpine moor.(Bild: Sebastian Frölich)

The Kaunertal mega-project is "a planning fossil with which Tiwag would senselessly destroy the pristine Platzertal valley and its moorland and wetlands forever. But there are alternatives," the WWF now points out in the power plant debate.

The EIA process for the expansion of the Kaunertal power plant has been running for 15 years now. "One of the longest environmental assessments Austria has ever had," emphasizes WWF water protection expert Bettina Urbanek. 400 improvement orders were issued, "but the project cannot be adapted. The plans are simply outdated".

Construction site in Kühtai for the Sellrain-Silz extension: still a relatively small project(Bild: Sebastian Froelich)

Different types of storage facilities
The WWF does not deny that there must be additional options for balancing energy or peak power generation in order to compensate for fluctuations in solar and wind power. However, there are also other options for stabilizing the grids and storing surplus electricity: "A widely branched grid expansion, load management and battery storage" are examples cited by energy expert Jürgen Neubarth (e3 consult GmbH).

Moving storage two valleys further
In a study commissioned by the WWF, he comes to the conclusion that a further expansion of the Sellrain-Silz power plant group could make the Kaunertal project superfluous - by relocating the pumped storage capacities two valleys further.

In principle, Tiwag could build further pumped storage power plants between the existing Finstertal and Längental reservoirs and the Kühtai reservoir currently under construction. This would make it possible to dispense with the planned pumped storage facility in Platzertal.

Jürgen Neubarth, Studienautor und Energieexperte

Others show how it can be done
The fact that power plants are built on existing reservoirs is "common practice": Neubarth cited Kaprun, Obervermunt and Lünersee as examples: "All of them were or are being built without additional destruction of nature." Sellrain-Silz is small in terms of capacity in relation to the size of the reservoir and can be expanded in a short space of time. "We are calling for this option to be seriously examined. There is no alternative to destroying the Platzertal valley, as is often claimed! We call on the Tiwag board member responsible, Alexander Speckle, to finally show some common sense and consider environmentally friendly alternatives." 

The last untouched Tyrolean high valleys are natural treasures "that belong to the population".