Klabböle Power Plant (''Swedish:'' Klabböle Kraftverk) was a

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

plant located near

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Ume� ...

in northern Sweden. The plant was commissioned in 1899 and supplied power to the city until 1958, when it was replaced by a newly constructed state-owned power plant in Norrforsen. Klabböle Kraftverk is now a museum located at

Ume River The Ume River (Swedish: ''Ume älv'' or ''Umeälven'') is one of the main rivers in northern Sweden. It is around long, and flows in a south-eastern direction from its source, the lake ''Överuman'' by the Norway, Norwegian border within the Scand ...

's south bank, below the village of Klabböle, about upstream from Umeå.

History

In the 1500s, there was a water mill in Klabböleforsen which was used for grinding

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

and for powering a saw. A steam-powered plant was located in the centre of Umeå, but by 1892 it needed to be replaced and the city agreed to use the rapids to build a hydroelectric plant in 1897. The work was subcontracted to the Qvist & Gjers engineering company in Arboga. Qvist & Gjers designed, engineered, and built the plant with two turbine-generator units totaling 400 kW, along with extra space for two more should they be needed in the future. Due to financial constraints and the so-called kungsådra (an old law preventing part of the waterways from being blocked), the whole stream was not dammed.Brunnstrom & Spade, p. 26. Instead, a diverter was built which created a watercourse for the power plant. The plant supplied power to Umeå for the first time on 6 December 1899. After a few weeks, problems arose due to

slush Slush, also called slush ice, is a slurry mixture of small ice crystals (e.g., snow) and liquid water. In the natural environment, slush forms when ice or snow melts or during mixed precipitation. This often mixes with dirt and other pollutant ...

, something that became a recurring problem. This was due to the plant's location at the lower part of the stream, between Norrfors and Klabböle, where the water cools off to the point that it becomes

supercooled Supercooling, also known as undercooling, is the process of lowering the temperature of a liquid or a gas below its melting point without it becoming a solid. It achieves this in the absence of a seed crystal or nucleus around which a crystal ...

. Initially, the plant utilized only 10 cubic meters per second of the river's average discharge of 430 cubic meters per second. To increase capacity, the power plant was expanded in 1904 with a third unit of 200 kW. Axel Rudolf Bergman then built a new plant of brick and concrete next to the old one. This new plant was completed on May 28, 1910, and a smaller expansion was added in 1914. Meanwhile, the Umeå municipality wanted the state-owned company

Vattenfall Vattenfall is a Swedish multinational power company owned by the Swedish State. Beyond Sweden, the company generates power in Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The company's name is Swedish for "waterfall", and ...

to start constructing a power plant in Norrforsen, which they were told would happen. However, during and after World War I, there were no financial resources available for this project, so Klabböle was expanded again in 1931. Finally, in 1958, the state-owned Stornorrfors Hydroelectric Power Station was inaugurated in Norrforsen.Lantz, p. 43. With this new facility in place, the newer expansions of the Klabböle power plant were demolished. The older machinery was retained and has been incorporated into a power plant museum, as part of the Umeå Energy Centre.Ahnlund, pp. 196–203.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Klabbole kraftverk Hydroelectric power stations in Sweden Umeå Dams in Sweden Dams completed in 1899 Energy infrastructure completed in 1899 1899 establishments in Sweden