Vamma 12

Fully digital engineering design of Norway’s largest run-of-river hydropower station. Vamma 12 Power Plant was officially opened in September 2019. Norconsult’s team has provided the engineering design for the power station. The power plant has a total throughput of 500 cubic metres per second.

Project name

Vamma 12 power-plant

Client

Hafslund Productio / E-CO

Location

Norway

Time span

2011 to 2020

Assignment

Vamma is located on the Glomma river, 18 km below Lake Øyeren. Before the development, lots of water was lost through the highwater overflow. With the new power station, which is coordinated with the old units, the water is utilised more efficiently and much less water is lost. Vamma 12 is the twelfth unit in Vamma Power Plant, built as standalone power station with intakes in the same reservoir. The power plant has a total throughput of 500 cubic metres per second and an installed capacity of 127 MW.

Solution

Norconsult was responsible for the BIM model and the construction work was solely based on the digital model. Vamma 12 is a ground-breaking BIM project. Already in 2015, the contractor established that no detailed drawings would be prepared, only digital models. Norconsult played a leading role in the BIM, and established a good collaboration with the contractor, construction management and even major software suppliers who adapted their products in order for the project to use BIM successfully.

Result

No watercourse encroachments were made during the construction, and the power station now generates a high volume of renewable power. Rocks from the tunnel construction were disposed of in the immediate vicinity, meaning that the project generated minimal works traffic. Vamma Power Plant’s 1.6 TWh annual output accounts for more than one per cent of Norway’s total electricity consumption. The turbine’s runner at Vamma is approximately eight metres in diameter and has an output capacity of 127 MW, equivalent to 170,000 horsepower. More than 250,000 cubic meters of rock was blasted out, and over 35,000 cubic meters of concrete was poured. Vamma 12 is taller than Oslo City Hall.

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