Tyttebærelva power plant

The Tyttebærelva river is located on the north side of Kjosen, a branch of Ullsfjorden in Lyngen municipality in Troms county. The outlet into Kjosen is located between Svensby ferry port in the west and the town of Lyngseidet in the east, about 10 km to both places. The watercourse has a length of about 6 km from the highest point, Istinden, with an elevation of 1495, and the fjord.

History of Tyttebærelva and Tyttebærdalen

Tyttebærdalen is a valley without settlements due to the topography. It is nevertheless well known for its moraine further up, through which the river flows. The University of Tromsø uses this area for its students. Loose debris from the fjord and inland valley have been used for local road construction since the 1930s. From 1985 and onward, there have been large shipments of gravel for roads throughout the North Norway. In the 1990s, a smolt facility was established on the river. Today there is a quarry in the area at the bottom of the river, near the station.

The valley has long been used for grazing purposes by both the local population and the Sámi people.
Historically, the Swedish Sámi used this area as a summer pasture for their reindeer. Later it has been used by Sámi people from Kautokeino.

Deep in the Tyttebærdalen valley are three large lakes from which the river originates. These lakes are very cold due to the altitude and the glacier that melts into one of them. The valley expands further up, but with fewer trees and more heather and rock. There are plenty of grouse here in late autumn to the delight of hunters.

Construction on the Tyttebærelva river began in September 2012, and trial operations were completed in September 2014.

A 6-nozzle Pelton turbine was installed with a flow rate of 1.64 m3/s, which operates with a net pressure of 100.2mVS. The turbine runs a 1600kVA, 690V generator. The voltage is then converted to 22 kV before the power is delivered to the grid.

Technical data

Rainfall field

12.8 km²

Minimum water flow

Summer: 400 l/s

Intake elevation

128 m

Power station elevation

3,0 m

Drop height

125 m

Production

4.3 GWh
This corresponds to electricity 269 households.