First Francis turbine in a crude oil pipeline put into operation
moreOn September 21, 2018 the Transalpine Oil Pipeline (TAL) officially put the world’s first recovery station that uses a Francis turbine into operation.
The Taimeralm energy recovery station is located in the municipality of Mittersill (Salzburg) at an altitude of around 1,335 m above the sea. The Transalpine Pipeline carries crude oil from Trieste to Ingolstadt via the Alps. This innovative and worldwide unique station allows the potential energy in the gradient north of the Felbertauern tunnel to be used for the first time to recover energy in an environmentally friendly manner. The energy is recovered by means of a Francis turbine with a directly coupled synchronous generator. The electricity produced is fed into the grid.
The bottleneck capacity of the Taimeralm energy recovery station amounts to 2,500 kW. An annual power generation of approx. 11.5 GWh is achieved. This corresponds to around 12 % of the annual energy demand of TAL Austria or the average annual energy demand of 3,000 households. The difference in altitude between the high point at Felbertauern and the station is 237 metres.
ILF Consulting Engineers has been a partner of TAL in this project since 2006 and was responsible for the following services: feasibility studies (2006 and 2009), conceptual design and site definition, permit application design, tender design incl. award of contract, site supervision, support during commissioning and management of authority notifications.
