Richellere Power Plant

Lora and Creme are two streams that flow on the slopes of the Recoaro mountains. They join on their way down towards the valley, adding the waters of the Rotolon and the Richellero streams, thus creating the Agno river that flows through Recoaro.

The first project to build a deviation of the Lora and Creme waters by Lanificio Marzotto dates back to January 1904 and bears the signature of engineers P. Chilesotti from Thiene and A. Marzotto. The Valdagno company wanted to use the water from the two streams, which had not been used so far, not even for agricultural purposes: “both for the naturally cool climate, which does not make irrigation much needed, and for the frequent rains which, in summer, better than irrigation, help keep green the few grassy patches in the high and partly steep mountains along the Italian border”.

The project included: an initial set of intake works on the Lora; the first part of a derivative channel of about 1800m up to the Creme stream; a second set of intake works on the latter stream; a long siphon of over 200 meters on Val Creme, the main architectural work of the water diversion project; the second part of the canal to channel the waters to the loading tank in the Gattera di Sopra area; a steep forced piping, 305 meters long, intended to feed a Pelton turbine; the drain system of the power plant near the intake works of the following Bruni power plant.

Some variations took place in the early 1920s: the Richellere power plant also received the wastewater from the new Gazza power plant (on the Lora stream) and Marzotto obtained permission to build a diversion of the waters of the Vaio Pellegatta as well.

The Richellere plant, now owned by Eusebio Energia, is currently in operation.