HYDROPOWER PLANT
The project saw the construction of a 21 GWh per year plant by exploiting an artificial drop of only 4 m, where energy was generated by four turbines. A mobile dam structure consists of an inflatable water pipe, laid on a reinforced concrete platform and covered with rubberised fabric, which ensures the correct water diversion to the lateral intake work on the left bank. The intake work is created by digging an artificial canal that starts immediately upstream of the structure and runs parallel to the river bank until it reaches a central underground room under the flood plain, where the production units and electromechanical equipment are located. Downstream of the central room is the channel for returning water to the riverbed. The excavation containment works consist of reinforced concrete diaphragms with a maximum depth of 13.50 m at the central room. The internal structure is made of reinforced concrete. The inflatable tubular weir works thanks to the principle of communicating vessels: it is connected to an underground sump filled with water and guarantees the correct derivation of water until the water level upstream of the structure reaches the maximum permitted level, beyond which the tubular weir depresses under the pressure of the water above it, making it transparent to the flow and preventing flooding phenomena. This weir, almost 200 m long, represents the largest diversion work ever built with this technology. Other complementary works include a fish ladder and a ramp for the passage of canoes. Among the complementary works, the ascent 'ladder' for the fish and the ramp for canoes to pass through are worth mentioning.