Purkersdorf (OTS) – Expansion of the Pretul wind farm with four new systems – Increase in electricity production from wind by 40% or 40 million kilowatt hours – Annual total of more than 300 million kilowatt hours of green ÖBf electricity from wind, water and biomass
The four new wind turbines in the Austrian Federal Forestry wind farm on Pretulalpe (Bruck-Mürzzuschlag district) went into full operation these days – the ultra-modern systems now produce around 40 million additional kilowatt hours (kWh) of green electricity. This will increase the production capacity of the Pretul wind farm by over 40% to a total of around 133 million kilowatt hours per year. In the future, a total of around 38,000* households can be supplied with electricity from renewable energy and around 117,300 tonnes of CO2** can be saved annually. “The wind location at 1,500 meters above sea level has proven to be very productive in recent years. Therefore, an expansion of the existing wind farm was obvious,” explains Georg Schöppl, board spokesman for the Austrian Federal Forests. “I am pleased that the new systems will help make Austria a little more independent of electricity imports and fossil energies.”
Energy construction site at 1,500 meters above sea level completed
The four wind turbines – three of the Enercon E-138 EP3 E3 type and one of the E-126 EP3 type – consist, in addition to the foundation, of the tower, the so-called nacelle, which contains the generator, and the hub with the three rotor blades. Last summer, the individual parts, weighing several tons, were transported by special transport at walking pace across the tree line – it took up to five hours to complete the approximately 13-kilometer route. “Even though we are otherwise happy about as much wind as possible in the region. The weather conditions had to be as calm as possible for the transport of the 68 meter long rotor blades,” reports ÖBf project manager Christoph Jatschka. Due to the weather, there is only a short time window available for the challenging work at an altitude of 1,500 meters above sea level. “Not only did we manage to set up the new facilities according to schedule, but we were also able to implement all the recultivation measures and accompanying ecological measures,” summarizes Jatschka. The crane parking areas have already been covered with humus again and seeds typical of the region have been planted on the used areas for revegetation. In addition, numerous ecological accompanying measures were implemented as part of the wind farm expansion – such as creating our own amphibian ponds, improving the habitat for black grouse and capercaillie, and decommissioning other old wood islands to promote biodiversity.
Largest alpine wind farm in the Alpine region
The Pretul I wind farm is the first wind farm in the Federal Forests and was connected to the grid in 2017. Since then, it has generated an average of around 93 million kWh of green electricity per year. The four new systems (Pretul II) will now feed an additional 40 million kWh into the electricity grid each year. “The Federal Forests are currently operating the largest alpine wind farm in the Alpine region,” said Schöppl.
More than 300 million kWh of green electricity from wind, water and biomass every year
The Federal Forests operate nine hydroelectric power plants, a wind farm, some with partners, and are involved in the Vienna Simmering wood biomass power plant (ÖBf: 33.3%, Wien Energie 66.6%). The total production of clean electricity across all systems was again more than 300 million kWh in 2023, which corresponds to the average annual consumption of around 90,000 households* and a CO2 saving of around 312,000 tonnes**.
“We are consistently continuing our commitment to the energy transition. We still see a lot of potential, especially in the expansion of wind energy,” said Schöppl. Together with Energie AG OÖ and EWS Consulting GmbH, the Federal Forests are developing the “Kobernausserwald Wind Farm” project, which, with 19 potential new wind turbines, is currently the largest energy project in Upper Austria. In addition, another hydroelectric power plant with an annual production of 30 GWh is being submitted to Hopfgarten in Tirol.
* based on 3,500 kWh per average household per year
** based on 882 g/kWh
Press photos at www.bundesforste.at
Questions & Contact:
Austrian federal forests
Mag. Andrea Kaltenegger, MBA
Company spokesperson
Tel. +43 (0) 2231-600-1521
andrea.kaltenegger@bundesforste.at
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