“Holsbru is a good project in which we will increase power production in the Tyin region without a substantial impact on the landscape, says Ola Sæter, head of the Energy business area.

The Holsbru project got the green light from the Norwegian authorities in the fall of 2008, but Hydro put the project on hold when demand for aluminium fell dramatically during the financial crisis.

“If all goes according to plan, we’ll do the groundbreaking in the fall,” Sæter says.

Hydro expects to invest NOK 200-250 million in the project.

Effective use of resources

The plan is to build new feeder tunnels to direct water from Holsbru Lake and Rausdøla to the old power station at Tyin. This power plant has been out of service since 2004, when Hydro started up its new power station at Tyin.

Holsbru Lake and Rausdøla are lower than the water intake for the new Tyin power station, and the water from Holsbru Lake and Rausdøla is therefore not in use today.

By resuming production at two of the generators in the old Tyin power station, Hydro will increase production by 84 GWh, with the total power production from Tyin exceeding 1,600 GWh.

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