Renovation of Platzspitz weir and use of hydropower at Letten power station
The Platzspitz weir at the confluence of the Limmat and Sihl rivers regulates Lake Zurich and harnesses hydropower. After more than 70 years of operation, it has reached the end of its technical service life. We visited the construction site and the Letten power plant in two groups.
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On Tuesday, May 6, 2025, we were invited to visit the "Platzspitz weir renovation" construction site and see how hydropower is used at the Letten power plant. We split into two groups for the two tours. Silke Schlienger from AWEL introduced us to the project in her humorous manner and gave us an insight into all the ups and downs in the project's history, from its beginnings to its implementation today. We concluded this part with a tour of the construction site. The Canton of Zurich maintains a project website for its hydraulic engineering projects: external page Renovation of the Platzspitz weir | Canton of Zurich
Here you can find detailed information about the project, the construction, and the costs.
Christoph Busenhart from EWZ took us on a journey through EWZ's electricity production and explained how the Letten run-of-river power plant works and the stages of its renovation. We benefited greatly from his extensive experience and in-depth knowledge. After the presentation, we were given a tour of all levels of the power plant.
To round off the event, we enjoyed an aperitif and good conversation in the power plant's control room
