Garden Reinåmoen is located just south of Korgen in Hemnes municipality. Here there are 5 farms that own the fall rights in Reinåga. The landowners were aware that the river could have good potential for small-scale power. How the value creation from the river was to be realized was the subject of several plans over the years. Much of the power resources around Korgen were developed in the 50s, 60s and 70s, but Reinåga was not affected by the development at the time.
In 2007, a contract was signed with Småkraft, which took on the risk, the work on the licensing process and the actual development. NVE granted the license in 2012. The excavators arrived in spring 2013. In 2014, the power plant was ready to deliver its contribution in the form of new renewable energy and local business revenues.
With natural stone walls and a glass facade, the station building has become beautiful to look at, where it is nicely adapted to the terrain opposite Kattuglhola.
The implementation of the construction project has had its challenges along the way. A pilot project with long-hole drilling of more than 1 km, costly access to the telecommunications network, a harsh winter during the construction phase, and mini-tunnels on the bare mountain – to name a few. The waterway in Reinåga is the first, and so far only, borehole over 1 km in length using Norhard’s drilling technique.
One of the most important factors for the successful implementation is that both the project team and suppliers have recent experience from similar power projects. Local contractors in combination with experienced project management undoubtedly have a positive effect on both progress and results. Another important success factor is that all suppliers have delivered on time. The construction has thus been able to maintain the planned progress. This is not a matter of course in this type of project.
Reinåga power plant has inflow from a catchment area of 4.3 km2. The minimum flow in winter is 12 l/s, while in summer it is 72 l/s. The intake at elevation 700 and the power station at elevation 124 give a head of 580 meters. Production is estimated at 12.3 GWh in a normal year. This corresponds to the electricity consumption of 615 households.
The Pelton turbine has 3 jets with a maximum flow capacity of 800 l/sec and drives a 4350 kVA, 6600 V generator. All power is transformed up to 22 kV and fed into the grid.
The intake is constructed as a blasted tunnel/channel between Reinåvatnet and the borehole. The threshold at the outlet is well adapted to the local terrain. Reinåvatnet is allowed to be regulated by 0.5 meters, which corresponds to the self-regulation of the lake.
The waterway consists of pipes in a trench at the bottom, while the steep section at the top is done with directional drilling of the shaft. The penstock is made of cast iron from the shaft to the station, while the shaft is lined with steel pipes. Diameter is 600 mm. The entire waterway is in rock/buried.
The power station building is constructed in the well-known Småkraft style, is 80 m2, built above ground, and well integrated into the terrain. The wastewater is piped into Reinåga.ruket in about 770 households.
