Joint power plant Inn (GKI) construction

The Challenge

Located on the upper Inn River between Tschlin (Switzerland) and Prutz (Austria), the new diversion hydropower plant had been in planning for decades. The challenge was to construct a high-capacity facility in a sensitive Alpine environment while ensuring long-term energy reliability.

The Solution

Water is diverted from the Inn at the Ovella weir and transported via a 23 km headrace tunnel to the powerhouse, where two 49 MW Francis turbines generate electricity. The water is then returned to the river through a 300 m covered tailrace channel.

The Impact

With an annual generation of 414 GWh—enough to power around 90,000 households—the Inn Joint Power Plant is the largest new run-of-river facility built in the Alpine region in decades. Backed by a €600 million investment, it strengthens renewable energy supply and supports the energy transition in both Switzerland and Austria.