Revamping of the Fara Gera d'Adda hydroelectric power plant

Revamping of the hydroelectric systems and the Fara Gera d'Adda hydroelectric power plant.

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Project: Revamping of a Hydroelectric Power Plant
Company: SEMAT
Location: Fara Gera D’Adda (BG)
Category: Civil Construction Project
Customer: Adda Energy SpA
Period: 2011

The plant was built inside a dismissed industrial facility to take advantage of the water flow coming through a canal from the Adda river built in 1870, which used to provide the power necessary for the prior plant on the site. In 2011 Semat directed the revamping works of the Fara Gera d'Adda hydroelectric power plant, the structures of which dated back to 1876. The plant, made up of a vertical-shaft Kaplan turbine combined with a revolutions multiplier gearbox and the generator, currently has a nominal power of 857.21 kW.

The first phase of the intervention provided for the lowering of the bottom of the old chambers, a complex operation since it had to be carried out at -3.50 meters below the water level. The limited space did not allow the use of a well-point system and therefore, a set of nine pumps with a total capacity of 50,000 l/min were used to control the water during the operations. With this method, the company was able to install and handover the new foundations in full compliance with the schedule established by the client, Adda Energy Spa.