Alpiq inaugurates hydropower plant in the Swiss canton of Glarus

After a construction period of 15 months, the Cotlan hydropower station was inaugurated on 26 June 2017. The power plant is located on the site of the former Cotlan textile factory in the municipality of Rüti in the Swiss canton of Glarus. 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. With an installed capacity of around 2.6 MW, the new Cotlan hydropower plant is the most powerful power station on the River Linth. The new power station was commissioned in January 2017. The power plant will generate approximately 12 million kWh of electricity per year, which equates to the average annual consumption of approximately 3,000 households. The investment costs amounted to CHF 22 million. The developer of the power plant is Cotlan Wasserkraft AG, in which Alpiq holds an interest of 60 percent with the Spinnerei Linthal AG holding the remaining 40 percent.

The Cotlan hydroelectric power station is connected directly to the “Neue Linthwerk” power plant, 18 metres higher in altitude, which is owned by the Spinnerei Linthal AG. A 1,200 metre pressure line connects the two power plants and feeds a maximum of 15 cubic metres of water per second 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. This benefits both agriculture and nature. Moreover, the removal of the old weir reduces the risk of flooding when the water levels are high.