HUBERT'S DESK
TRAUNRAUSCHEN
UPDATE: 10 November 2021
It is with great joy and relief that we can announce that the those responsible at Energie AG have reconsidered. Their conclusion: the power station on the Traun at Weißenbach will NOT be built! Our sincere thanks goes to the Chief Executive of Energie AG OÖ, Prof. KR Ing. DDr. Werner Steinecker. He put into practice the democratic principles formulated by the corporation itself and proved that they are not hollow words. It is a weight off the minds of not just the people of Goisern, who feel a connection and love for the natural world in which they live, but of the many supporters of #traunrauschen too.
We applaud this particularly courageous and forward-thinking decision. Not least because we know that it was not an easy decision for the corporation to make.
A big thank you to all those who contributed.
Back in 2016, Energie AG Oberösterreich committed an outrageous ecological sin against the river Traun in Goisern, in the form of a hydroelectric power plant: a concrete thrombosis that is now clogging the lifeline of the Salzkammergut.
Now, 2.5km downstream, another dam wall is to be erected. In order to achieve the necessary drop height, the river has to be dammed for well over a kilometre and contained in a basin within dam walls built metres high. A long stretch of the riverbed below the power station must also be excavated and lowered.
Once again, established biospheres are threatened with obliteration. This will mean the destruction of the habitats of numerous water birds, reptiles and fish, as well as beloved safe havens and swimming sites.
In a statement from 16 December 2020, the Upper Austrian Ministry of Environment and Water Management writes:
"... From the point of view of water and landscape ecology, the project [represents] a massive deterioration, which in its present form can neither be justified as suitable for contemporary demands, nor in terms of climate protection or other public interests.
Since the ecological costs and energy use are not balanced with one another, from the perspective of the Upper Austrian Environmental Ombuds offices for Environmental Protection, the project is not eligible in its current form."
The reaction from operating company Energie AG Oberösterreich to the resistance from citizens, who are demanding that the project be discontinued on the basis of this information:
"Don't worry! We'll break through any resistance and force this project through!" 🤮
On the contrary, Energie AG, we are worried – for the natural world and for Goisern – and your presumptuous tone gives us all the more reason to be!
A river must flow.
The Traun must be heard.
Hubert von Goisern
June 2021
Support the Traunrauschen Citizens' Action Group
We must mobilise now. We can only establish a legally-binding citizens' action group once the proposed power plant is in the Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure phase. At that point, we then only have 6 weeks to present our well-founded objections to the power plant, supported by a petition. That means we must be well-prepared! Declarations of support from citizens in and around Bad Goisern are absolutely vital as well as from further afield.
To help strengthen the Traunrauschen campaign and to keep up to date with the latest news, please make a declaration of support now at
www.traunrauschen.at
There you'll find detailed information on the plans for the hydroelectric plant on the river Traun and their impact, as well as the statement from Upper Austrian Environmental Advocate Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Martin Donat.
"Heast as nit, wie die zeit vergeht ..." The Goiserer Traun at Stambach in 2015 (1/7)
"... gestern no habn d'leut ganz anders g'redt ..." The same point on the Goisern Traun in 2021, where for centuries salt boats, and then kayaks and rafts had sailed. Eye candy for those who love concrete in any form, ... a money-printing machine for the investors and shareholders! For everyone else, it's a disfigurement of the landscape, a unsightly spectacle, to say nothing of its ecological consequences. (2/7)
"... gestern is heut word'n und heut is bald morgen …" 2.5 km downstream, ENERGIE AG OBERÖSTERREICH wants to erect another dam wall right here: the Weissenbach power station (3/7)
The Goisern Traun at Weissenbach in 2021. In order to attain the drop height of 6.25m necessary for a hydroelectric dam, the river won't just have to be dammed, walls metres high will be constructed, and the river bed will be excavated and lowered too. (4/7)
Should the power station be built, it would mean an enormous reduction in the quality of life for the people who live here or come here looking to relax - to say nothing of the harm it would do to the animal world. If it goes ahead, more quiet havens and swimming places loved by local and holidaymakers, as well as the habitats of many water birds, reptiles and fish will be history. (I took the underwater photos myself right here a few years ago) (5/7)
In a statement from 16 December 2020, the Upper Austrian Ministry of Environment and Water Management reacts to the proposal of another dam across the Traun:
"... From the point of view of water and landscape ecology, the project [represents] a massive deterioration, which in its present form can neither be justified as suitable for contemporary demands, nor in terms of climate protection or other public interests. Since the ecological costs and energy use are not balanced with one another, from the perspective of the Upper Austrian Environmental Ombuds offices for Environmental Protection, the project is not eligible in its current form."
👀 Tomorrow, you can read ENERGIE AG OBERÖSTERREICH's reaction to the resistance from citizens, who are demanding that the project be discontinued on the basis of this information. (6/7)
The reaction from the Energie AG Oberösterreich project manager to the resistance from citizens against plans for another power station on the Traun, and their concerns for the environment:
"Don't worry! We'll break through any resistance and force this project through!" 🤮
❗️On the contrary, Energie AG, we are worried – for the natural world and for Goisern – and your presumptuous tone gives us all the more reason to be! (7/7)
Support the Traunrauschen campaign!
Make your declaration of support now at www.traunrauschen.at