Today, Voith participated in Kaukauna Utilities Badger Hydro Plant’s formal dedication in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. The Badger Hydro Plant combines hydraulic capacity of the 105-year old “old” Badger plant and the 85-year old “new” badger plant into a new single 2-unit plant resulting in more capacity than the previous two plants combined. Voith was heavily involved in the project, as Voith Hydro supplied two Kaplan turbines and automation equipment, while Voith Turbo provided the speed increasers. The 7 megawatt-plant has a 50-year license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It is estimated that 4,000 households will benefit from the clean, reliable energy produced by the Badger Hydro Plant.

“The Badger Hydro Plant is exciting not only for Kaukauna Utilities and its customers, it’s one of Voith’s flagship projects,” said Voith Chief Operating Officer at Voith Hydro York, Stan Kocon. “The Badger plant seamlessly combines technology from two of Voith’s divisions in a power plant that will provide additional clean and renewable power to Kaukauna Utilities customers for generations to come.”

The Badger Hydro Plant is indicative of much of the current focus of the U.S. hydropower industry. Many utilities and developers are retrofitting existing hydropower plants such as Badger to increase output, or turning to the United States’ approximately 80,000 non-powered dams and other water infrastructure to add hydropower production. Voith Hydro is involved with many of these projects, including the expansion of PPL Generation's Holtwood Hydroelectric Facility in Pennsylvania, AMP’s Ohio River Projects, and Missouri River Energy Services’ Red Rock Hydroelectric Project in Iowa.

“Though hydropower is one of our oldest sources of energy, it remains one of the most dynamic,” Kocon continued. “As we have done for over 135 years, Voith Hydro looks forward to harnessing the power of our water resources to provide low-cost and low carbon-emitting hydropower to homes and businesses across the U.S.”

About the Company
Voith sets standards in the markets energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transportation & automotive. Founded in 1867, Voith employs more than 43,000 people, generates € 5.7 billion in sales, operates in about 50 countries around the world and is today one of the biggest family-owned companies in Europe.

The Importance of Hydropower
Hydropower is the largest, oldest and also most reliable form of renewable energy generation. Worldwide it makes an indispensable contribution to stable power supplies and hence to economic and social development - both in industrial countries and in emerging markets. At the same time, hydropower significantly contributes to climate-protecting energy generation. Voith has been a leading supplier of this technology since the early beginning, and continuously develops it further.