Save the Oetz - Save the Ötzaler Ache!

The Ötztaler Ache is massively threatened by the expansion of the Kaunertal power plant. The planned power plant chain stretches across the entire Ötztal Alps - among other things, 25 m high dams are to be built in the Venter & Gurgler Ache, a 120 m high dam is to be constructed and the Platzertal is to be flooded. Up to 80% of Ötztal's water is to be diverted: the entire Ötztaler Ache and parts of the Venter & Gurgler Ache would become residual water stretches. For kayakers, this would mean that most stretches would often have too little water even in summer - in fall there would be no navigable water levels on any section. The attractiveness of the Ötztal as a kayaking area lies in the variety of routes and the water safety from spring to fall - all this would be lost.

The association WET - Wildwasser erhalten Tirol is fighting the expansion plans together with Ötztaler:innen, Kaunertaler:innen, the WWF, the Austrian and German Alpine Association, Global 2000 and many other organizations.

Even the OETZ TROPHY would no longer be possible if the Ötztal water was diverted. Help us to preserve the Ötztal as an international epicenter for kayaking!

Petition: Stop expansion of Kaunertal power plant

YES to the protection of the Alps and rivers - YES to a nature-friendly energy transition - NO to the expansion of the Kaunertal power plant

With their extensive glaciers, the Ötztal Alps are home to the last great treasure trove of water in the Eastern Alps. Countless animal and plant species still find an intact retreat here. This important natural area must not be sacrificed: the expansion of the Kaunertal power plant threatens catastrophic consequences for people and nature. Up to 80 percent of the water is to be diverted from the ecologically valuable glacial rivers Venter and Gurgler Ache. This massive withdrawal of water would massively impair the water supply for the entire Ötztal. This is completely absurd, especially in times of climate crisis.

Enormous development in the middle of the Alps

At the same time, a new dam with a height of 120 meters is to be built in the Platzertal, a previously almost untouched high valley. This is almost equivalent to the height of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, five times the height of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and seven times the height of the Golden Roof in Innsbruck. Behind this dam, 63,000 square meters of valuable moorland would sink into a reservoir forever - even though we urgently need moors in the fight against the climate crisis. We can only overcome the climate crisis and the extinction of species with the help of nature. That is why we must protect the last intact natural areas and rivers in the Alps. Politicians and TIWAG must set the course for a nature-compatible energy transition instead of unilaterally focusing on the construction of new hydropower plants. The enormous expansion of the Kaunertal power plant is a negative example throughout the Alps that is no longer in keeping with the times.

We therefore demand that the Tyrolean state government:

• Stop of the Kaunertal power plant expansion project.
• Protection for the last ecologically intact Alpine rivers.
• Preservation of alpine natural landscapes such as the Platzertal.
• An environmentally friendly energy transition.