Rehabilitation Planned for 50-Megawatt Swiss Hydropower Station

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Forces Motrices de la Gougra SA (Chippis, Switzerland) is currently awaiting permits to begin with the rehabilitation and unit replacement of the 50-megawatt (MW) Navizence Chippis Hydropower Station, which has been supplying electricity since 1908.

The project, which includes the replacement of seven horizontal 7-megwatt (MW) Pelton hydraulic turbines and the installation of three 25-MW Pelton vertical hydraulic turbines, has been postponed several months because of delays in the permitting procedure. Upon approval, construction will start in spring 2010 with project completion and commissioning of the three new units scheduled for the first quarter of 2013. Project scope includes the construction of a new 65-kilovolt (kV) substation.

Navizence Chippis power station was modernized in the 1940s and now operates with seven Escher Weiss Pelton Turbines. With the replacement of these units, and the installation of three new 25-MW Pelton machines, plans are to continue to generate 50 MW of electricity and increase the installed capacity with the additional units.

A consortium formed by Andritz Hydro SA (Vevey, Switzerland) Lombardi SA Engineering Limited (Minusio, Switzerland) and Groupe-E SA (Fribourg, Switzerland) will be in charge of the project.

Forces Motrices de la Gougra SA, the majority share of which belongs to Alpiq, currently has several projects for the rehabilitation and modernization of hydropower stations and related infrastructure, including the 21-MW Martigny-Bourg power plant and the 70-MW Salanfe-Mieville modernization project. At present, Alpiq is also building a grassroot 600-MW pumped-storage power station with commissioning scheduled for 2017.

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