Alpiq has announced that the 2.6MW Cotlan hydropower plant in the Swiss canton of Glarus has been officially inaugurated.
After a construction period of 15 months, the Cotlan hydropower station was officially inaugurated on 26 June 2017, with commissioning achieved in January 2017. The power plant is located on the site of the former Cotlan textile factory in the municipality of Rüti. It utilises the waters of the River Linth to generate electricity and was constructed as a replacement for an 81 year-old small-scale hydropower plant.
Developed by Cotlan Wasserkraft AG – in which Alpiq holds an interest of 60% with Spinnerei Linthal AG holding the remaining 40 percent – the plant required an investment of CHF 22 million
The plant is connected directly to t Spinnerei Linthal’s Neue Linthwerk power plant, 18m higher in altitude.. A 1200m pressure line connects the two power plants and feeds a maximum of 15m3/sec to the turbine in the Cotlan power plant. Thanks to this connection, the headrace channel of the old Cotlan power plant and the weir in the River Linth were no longer required and were able to be dismantled. The removal of the old weir reduces the risk of flooding when the water levels are high.
