Mighty River Begins $500 Million Modernization and Refurbishment Program in New Zealand

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--Mighty River Power Limited (Auckland, New Zealand) has undertaken a $500 million reinvestment program for the Waikato hydro stations. The project is designed to increase and maximize the value of the 40- to 50-year-old hydro generation assets that operate in the Waikato region of New Zealand.

The hydro stations include nine power plants that have a total generating capacity of 1,040 megawatts (MW), with different hydraulic capacities at each power station.

Mighty River recently completed turbine upgrades and runner replacements on the 106-MW Ohakuri hydro station, as part of the $28 million refurbishment and upgrade project. One of the two large power stations, Arapuni, is undergoing refurbishment work. The company, in association with selected contractors, has completed the replacements for stator and rotor poles in four generators, significantly extending the life of each unit and increasing each machine's capacity by 1.3 MW.

According to Fraser Whineray, the general manager for Mighty River Power - Operations, the refurbishment of these old hydro stations will increase the operating efficiency levels to approximately 96%, from previously reported levels of 89%.

In the next seven to eight years, Mighty River Power plans to undertake a series of refurbishment programs on the rest of the hydro plants, as part of the company's flexible generation portfolio.

Aging and high-maintenance plant components, such as new turbine runners, circuit breakers, high-voltage transformers and cables, will be replaced with modern components. Controls and protection systems will be upgraded with modern automated technologies.

Detailed planning is under way for two to three months of major maintenance on the 32-MW Karaprio Hydro Station, which will commence in 2014. The $500 million investment program will indefinitely extend the lifetime of the hydropower plant another 40 to 60 years.

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