Hydro power from Europe's water fortress
Alpiq Hydro Ticino SA operates a power plant on the Gotthard Pass with two reservoirs and two power stations.
From the Gotthard Pass the water flows northwards to the North Sea and southwards to the Mediterranean. Alpiq Hydro Ticino collects this water in the the Lucendro and Sella reservoirs, and uses it to generate electrical energy in the Sella and Airolo stations.
The Lucendro and Sella reservoirs hold a total of 34 million cubic meters of water. The Lucendro dam is 69 meters high, and the Sella dam 32 meters high. A special feature of the Lucendro dam is its rarely seen crown pillar design.
104 million kWh of electricity per year
At the core of the Lucendro storage power station is the Airolo station. Two 29 MW generators process the water, which shoots down a pressure line at a drop of 900 meters and through the Pelton turbines. The small hydro power station at Sella uses the 100-meter difference in height between Lake Sella and the surge chamber. The installed capacity is around 2 MW. Both stations generate an average of 104 million kWh of electricity a year.
Information on Alpiq Hydro Ticino SA
Alpiq Hydro Ticino is a fully-owned subsidiary of Alpiq Holding SA. Founded in December 2000, the company is responsible for the operating, maintenance and expansion of the Lucendro storage power station.
- Founded: December 2000
- Employees: 7
- Lucendro storage power station: max. electrical capacity: 60 MW, average annual production: 104 million kWh
- Managing Director: Alfredo Baldi
