Alstom to Modernise Eight Russian Hydropower Plants

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Russia's largest hydropower generation company, RusHydro (Moscow), has signed a 10-year deal to modernise the Cascade of Kubansky hydropower plants (HPPs) in southern Russia.

The deal with Alstom Hydro France (Levallois-Perret, France), Alstom Russia (Moscow) and the Russian United Energy-Construction Corporation (OEK) will see a complete overhaul at eight hydropower plants and one pumped-storage power plant, with a total capacity of more than 460 megawatts (MW). Following the modernisation process, which will take six to 10 years, the capacity is expected to increase 10-20%, to approximately 550 MW. The Kubansky Cascade hydropower complex is situated at the Kuban River and extends for 235 kilometres.

Alstom has been contracted to carry out the rehabilitation of electro- and hydro-mechanical equipment, alongside the installation of a new instrumentation and control system. OEK will be responsible for all civil works. A feasibility study is expected to get under way soon.

Some of the equipment for the project will be provided by the joint hydropower manufacturing facility that RusHydro and Alstom have agreed to build in Ufa, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia. The factory will be geared toward the manufacture of hydro-generating equipment for small hydropower plants, as well as equipment for distributed control systems, condition monitoring systems, excitation systems for hydro generators and integrated site security systems. It will also produce equipment for medium HPPs and pumped-storage power plants.

Hydropower currently accounts for 20% of the country's total electricity supply, with 102 hydropower plants generating a combined total of 45,000 MW, the fifth largest hydropower production in the world.

Two years ago, Russia's Premier Vladimir Putin called for a thorough investigation of all hydropower plants in the country, following a fatal accident at RusHydro's Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower plant in Siberia, which claimed 75 lives. In August 2009, the roof of the main turbine hall collapsed after the explosion of an oil-filled transformer, flooding the entire structure and trapping workers in rooms beneath the hall. For additional information, see August 19, 2009, article - Fatal Explosion Shuts Russia's Largest Hydro Plant.

Putin ordered that an initial investigation be carried out regarding hydroelectric equipment, which plays a key role in the safety of plants. He also ordered a tightening of inspection procedures and monitoring, claiming that plant safety was compromised by subcontracting crucial functions to inexperienced third-party service providers alongside insufficient spending on safety-related measures.

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