Laxiwa Hydropower Station on Yellow River on Schedule for Commissioning

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The first generator stator of the Laxiwa hydropower station, one of the largest hydropower stations on the Yellow River, was successfully lifted to the pit and erected to its final position on April 24, 2008. This means that the station's first unit is on schedule for commissioning next year. The project is in the electrical-and-mechanical-installation phase. The stator, the stationary part of the generator, has a total lift weight of 730 metric tons. The stator core weighs 610 metric tons, and the weight of its tools for lifting is 120 metric tons. The stator core has an inner diameter of 12.6 meters and a height of 3.25 meters. The maximum outer diameter of the stator frame is 16.25 meters.

The station, located at the boundary between Guide County and Guinan County in Qinghai Province, is the second cascade project among large and midsize hydropower stations planned in the river section from Longyangxia to Qingtongxia on the Yellow River. The project is also a key power source project in the northern passage for plans to transmit power from the west to the east program. The station has a total planned capacity of 4,200 megawatts (MW) with six 700MW hydraulic turbine-generating units for an annual average power output of 10.22 billion kilowatt-hours. The project has a 250-meter high double curvature arch dam and a total reservoir storage capacity of 1.08 billion cubic meters.

The station is being developed by Huanghe Upstream Hydropower Development Company Limited (Xining, Qinghai), a subsidiary of China Power Investment Corporation (Beijing). The project's generator supply contract was awarded to Harbin Electric Works Company Limited (Heilongjiang, China). Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation Company Limited (Shanghai) is responsible for the supply of the hydraulic turbines. River closure for the project was achieved in the beginning of 2004. Excavation for the dam abutment began in September 2004, and the first bucket of concrete was poured in April 2006. The first unit is scheduled to begin operation in June 2009, and the project is expected to be complete in 2011.

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