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Let’s discover the hydroelectric plants of AFV Beltrame Group!

We will start with the one situated on the right bank of the Bacchiglione river, in the south of #Vicenza, in Debba locality near Colli Berici.

The plant was built in 1943 for Cotonificio Rossi on the basis of an existing hydroelectric plant derived from a late 19th century mill, and was acquired in 1986 by Acciaierie e Ferriere Vicentine Beltrame S.p.A. In 1994 it passed to Società Impianti Idroelettrici and then, in 2000, to Idroelettriche Riunite S.p.A. In the end, in 2023 it was acquired by AFV Acciaierie Beltrame SpA.

The Debba hydroelectric plant is of the run-of-river type, all the water captured by the Bacchiglione river is entirely released downstream of the plant without any storage.

The annual hydroelectric power production is approximately 2,000,000 kWh. This is a small hydroelectric plant with a flow rate of about 15 m3/sec and a head of about 3 m.

The power plant consists of 2 generating units, equipped with 2 double regulated vertical Kaplan turbines of 239 kW each and their asynchronous generators.

The plant was revamped between 2021 and 2023 and many activities were carried out: from the installation of a new trash rack cleaner to the modifications of the loading channel and turbine gates; from the structural modification of the building to the replacement of turbines and generators.

“We have been studying the revamping of the power plant in detail for years", explained Gianmaria Zanni Energy COO "all dry and wet works have been replaced and rebuilt and this will lead not only to an increase in production thanks to improved efficiency and automation, but also to a reduction in stoppages. It's also important to mention that thanks to the revamping, solutions have been adopted to increase the #safety of the operators themselves in the plant.”