Dossi hydroelectric power plant

The Dossi hydroelectric power plant is located in the district of the same name in Valbondione, a municipality in the upper Seriana Valley, in the province of Bergamo (in northern Italy’s Lombardy region). The power plant is fed both by water stored in the Barbellino and Valmorta dams and by water taken directly from streams that are made to flow from nearby catchment areas, through a system of canals and pipelines, to a single point.

The water travels inside penstocks, which can withstand very high pressure, from an elevation of 1810 meters to the level of the power plant, at an elevation of 850 meters, reaching the hydroelectric power plant’s engine room.

The power plant, which was built in the 1920s, is an articulated stone complex with large rectangular lattice windows, wrought-iron lamps, and a roof inspired by the triangular pediment of a Greek temple. Next to it stand offices and some dwellings that were originally intended for the plant's staff.

From 1943 onwards, the plant operated with six units (one unit consists of a turbine, which converts water energy into gyratory motion, and an alternator, which converts motion into electricity). In 2008, the plant was refurbished and only two groups were installed instead of the previous six, but with higher performance.