The idea was born at the change of the century in Munich: the 200 meter difference between the Walchensee and Kochelsee lakes could be used for the production of electrical energy. Oskar von Miller headed the efforts for realizing this project. Being an engineer himself and a member of of the Bavarian Assembly he proposed the electrification of the bavarian railways and the distribution of the rest of the electrical power for public use. The project immediately caused public interest: some reacted enthusiastically, others were wary of interfering with nature.
Towards the end of the First World War Oskar von Miller realized his dream: on June 21, 1918 the Bavarian parlament decided the construction of the Walchenseekraftwerk. The importantance of the building of the power plant is difficult to grasp: the technical resources were few and imperfect, the transport routes were bad and in winter transportation was only possible using sleds.
On January 24, 1924 the water of the Walchensee drove a turbine at the Kochelsee for the first time! The Walchenseekraftwerk is still in operation today, producing an annual average of 320.000.000 kWh and being one of the biggest power plants in Germany.
On Wednesday September 28th HarmonIT has organised a visit to the Walchenseekraftwerk.
The bus will leave at 10:30am from the Bavarian Water Agency and arrive at the Walchenseekraftwerk at 12:00. Lunch will be served there until 12:30 and then a guided visit will take place until 14:00. The bus will then return to Munich and will arrive at the Oktoberfest in the Theresenwiesen at 16:00.
A
research project supported by the European Commission under the Fifth
Framework Programme and contributing to the implementation of the
Key Action “Sustainable
Management and Quality of Water” within the Energy, Environment
and Sustainable Development Contract no: EVK1-CT-2001-00090
