Klabböle Power Plant
| Klabböle kraftverk | |
|---|---|
 Klabböle kraftverk (2011). | |
  Location of Klabböle kraftverk in Sweden | |
| Official name | Klabböle kraftverk |
| Country | Sweden |
| Location | Umeå |
| Reservoir | |
| Total capacity | 993 MWh (1909)[1] |
| Turbines | 2 in 1899, 3 in 1904 |
Klabböle kraftverk was a hydropower plant near Umeå city in northern Sweden. The plant was commissioned in 1899 and supplied power to the city until 1958. Klabböle kraftverk is now a museum located at Ume River's south bank, below the village Klabböle, about 7 kilometers upstream from Umeå.
History
In the 1500s there was a water mill in Klabböleforsen which was used for grinding flour and for powering a saw.[2] A steam power plant was located in the centre of Umeå but by 1892 it needed to be replaced and Umeå city agreed to use the rapids to build a hydroelectric plant in 1897. It was sub contracted to the Qvist & Gjers engineering company in Arboga. Qvist & Gjers designed, engineered and built the power plant with two aggregates totaling 400 KW, with extra space for two more aggregates.[3][4]
Due to financial reasons and because of the so-called kungsådra (an old law preventing part of the water ways to be blocked) the whole stream was not dammed.[5] Instead a diverter was built which created a watercourse for the power plant.[6] The plant supplied power to Umeå for the first time on 6 December 1899. After a few weeks problems occurred due to slush, something that became a recurring problem.[7] The reason was that the plant was placed in the lower part of the stream, between Norrfors and Klabböle, where the water was cooled off to the point that it became supercooled.[5]
The plant only utilized 10 cubic meters per second of the river's average discharge of 430 cubic meters per second.[8] Thus, to better use the stream the power plant was expanded in 1904 with a third aggregate of 200 KW. Axel Rudolf Bergman then built a new plant of brick and concrete, next to the old power plant. The new plant was completed May 28, 1910 and a smaller expansion was also built in 1914. Meanwhile Umeå city municipality wanted the state owned company Vattenfall to start constructing a power plant in Norrforsen, which they were told would happen. However during and after the World War I there were no financial means available for this project and hence Klabböle was expanded again in 1931. Finally in 1958, the state owned power plant Stornorrfors power plant was inaugurated in Norrforsen.[9] Because of this the newer expansions of the plant in Klabböle were demolished. The older machinery wase kept and now functions as a power plant museum, as part of the Umeå Energy Centre.[10]
References
- ^ Ahnlund, p. 200.
- ^ Ahnlund p. 136.
- ^ "Klabböle". Tekniska museet. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
- ^ "Klabböle kraftverk". Västerbottens museum. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
- ^ a b Brunnstrom & Spade, p. 26
- ^ Brunnström & Spade, p. 26
- ^ "Klabböle besöksområde". Umeå municipality. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
- ^ Brunnström & Spade, p. 24
- ^ Lantz, p. 43
- ^ Ahnlund, pp. 196-203
Literature
- Ahnlund Mats, ed. (1980). Äldre industrier och industriminnen vid Umeälvens nedre del: [Older industries and industrial monuments in the lower part of the Ume river valley]. Norrländska städer och kulturmiljöer, 0348-2618 ; 6 (in Swedish). Umeå: Inst. för konstvetenskap, Umeå univ. pp. 196–203. libris=254350.
- Lantz, Gunnar (2013). Kommunal kraft : hamnar, elektricitet och systembyggare i Umeå 1920-1960 (PDF) (in Swedish). Umeå: Umeå universitet, Institutionen för geografi och ekonomisk historia.
- Olofsson, Sven Ingemar (1972). Umeå stads historia 1888-1972. Umeå: Umeå kommunfullmäktige. pp. 140–146. libris=88277.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthor=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Lasse Brunnström & Bengt Spade (1992). "Elkraft och Kraftverk". Västerbotten: Västerbottens läns hembygdsförening. 3. Umeå: Västerbottens läns hembygdsförening. libris=3680032.