Eraring Energy to Refurbish Kangaroo Valley Hydroelectric Plant in New South Wales, Australia

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Perth, Australia)--State-owned energy producer and operator Eraring Energy (Sydney, Australia) is expected to spend $50 million on the refurbishment of its Kangaroo Valley Hydroelectric Pumping Station through 2015 to improve the efficiency of its plant in New South Wales.

Eraring Energy built a joint project known as the Shoalhaven scheme, located in the Shoalhaven district, Kangaroo Valley, with Electricity Commission of New South Wales and Sydney Catchment Authority. As part of the scheme, the company developed two hydro-pumping stations: the Kangaroo Valley Hydroelectric Pumping Station (KVPS), which produces a total electricity generating capacity of 160 MW, and the Bendeela Hydroelectric Pumping Station, with two 40-MW pump/turbine units for a total of 80 MW of electricity generating capacity.

KVPS is located in the Kangaroo Valley, about 4 kilometers from the village of Kangaroo Valley and 110 kilometers south of Sydney, which is the state capital of New South Wales. The power plant is equipped with two 80-MW vertical axis pump/ turbine hydro units.

Eraring invited tenders for refurbishment works on Unit 4 during February 2012 and selected Alstom Power Limited (New South Wales, Australia) as the main contractor to perform the job. Both the company and the contractor worked together to complete valve refurbishment and vibration repairs on Unit 4, ensuring the highest standards of safety by the end of 2012. The major portion of Unit 4's refurbishment will begin by end of this month.

According to the company, the scope of the refurbishment will involve a complete strip down of the unit with inspection and condition report of every component of the hydro plant, including the runner replacement. The project will involve a 12- to 14-month outage on the unit and is expected to cost more than $20 million to the company. Alstom personnel will work on the site starting this month and will conduct inspections of all valves and mechanical components for refurbishment or replacement as necessary. The refurbishment project is expected to be completed by April 2014. Following this, Eraring will perform the same scope of work on Unit 3.

Eraring currently operates the 2,920-MW Eraring Power Station, which is a coal-fired power station located in New South Wales. Eraring's portfolio of generation assets consists of three hydro stations with a combined capacity of 160 MW, and two windfarms with a total capacity of 14.5 MW.

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