The efforts to deliver the monastery’s own hydro power plant dragged out over more than a decade. It was only three years ago that the powers-that-be at the Benedictine monastery of Marienberg …

… in the area of Burgei in South Tyrol – the highest Benedictine abbey in Europe at an altitude of 1340 m above sea level – were able to implement their ideas of an environmentally friendly and decentralised ecofriendly power plant. The new high-pressure power plant on the Meltzbach river in the Vinschgau district has now been reliably supplying green electricity since the end of 2012. The 4-nozzle Pelton turbine with a maximum output of 315 kW generates around 1.8 GWh a year. The revenue from selling electricity is used primarily to maintain the extensive buildings and property.