U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Prepares for $70 Million Hydroelectric Power Plant Refurbishment Project

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The U.S Army Corps of Engineers is performing planning and scheduling for a seven-unit refurbishment project (PEC 27000720) at the John H Kerr Hydro Power Station (Plant 1032179). Construction on the first unit is scheduled for kick-off by October 2004. The project is estimated to cost at least $70-million.

Commercial operations started in 1952, with a total capacity of 192-megawatts. The Kerr powerhouse is located in Mecklenburg County, Boydton, Virginia and consists of seven 32-megawatt Westinghouse turbine and generator sets.

The project scope is to replace the existing Westinghouse turbines with new General Electric turbine design that will dissolve oxygen (DO) content in the water being discharged from the turbines. The increased dissolved oxygen will benefit aquatic organisms by increasing the amount of oxygen available in the waterway to maintain life. The scope also includes runners and excitors installment, piping and switchyard repairs, and balance-of-plant equipment. Each unit will be shutdown for a duration of six-months to make the complete upgrade. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2007.

GE Hydro was awarded the $47-million contract from the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to do the project. GE Hydro is a unit of GE Power Systems (Atlanta, Georgia), specializing in the supply of hydro turbines and generators equipment for the hydropower production industry.

The John H Kerr Hydro Power Station is owned and operated by the federal government, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) (Washington DC).