The hydropower plant on the Rio Bedù in the municipality of Pelugo in the province of Trento, Italy, a project that starts the energy transition of the area, is currently being completed.

Ensuring the variability of the outflows by guaranteeing the minimum in the riverbed, the pipeline extends for a total of about 800 m, protected upstream with a throttle valve with an overspeed palm.

The power plant, realised by Polytec, is fully automated, will produce 3,800,000 kWh per year, and will be connected in parallel to the power grid to which it will transfer the energy, controlled remotely.

Hydroalp was commissioned to design the 5-jet vertical-axis Pelton unit.

The design of the Pelton turbine, a type suitable in contexts where there are high water jumps and quite low flow rates, aimed to optimise the conversion by maximising the performance of the turbine-generator unit over the entire range of water flow regulation. In flowing water systems (a typical condition for mini-hydro), where the seasonal variation in flow rate is always significant, this ensures maximum efficiency under all possible operating conditions throughout the year, thus maximising annual energy production.