Vattenfall to Overhaul Swedish Hydropower Plants

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- Swedish energy giant Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden) is to commit €1.46 billion ($1.9 billion) into modernising its hydropower plants over the coming decade.

The company claimed that the investment to 2023 is vital to maintaining its large portfolio of Swedish hydropower stations and extending their lives to 2050 and beyond. Hydropower plays a vital role n the Swedish electricity market, accounting for around 41% of the total power generated. Hydropower also makes up around one fifth of Vattenfall's electricity generation portfolio.

The company said that €30.4 million ($39.5 million) will be spent in 2014 on two new turbines for the hydropower plant in Storuman, Umluspen, which will see electricity production increased by 8,000 megawatt hours (MWh) per year. The Umluspen Hydro Power Station hydro plant was commissioned in 1957 and produces about 400,000 MWh per year. Umluspen is the first of three Vattenfall facilities located in the in the upper stretches of the Ume Älv River, generating around 94 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

"The modernisation of the power plant Umluspen for a quarter of a billion (Swedish Krona), means that it can operate for another 40 years and generate electricity," said Christer Ljunggren, Fleet manager for Vattenfall Hydropower. "New and more efficient turbines and generators provide more energy from the same water volume. The modernisation of Vattenfall's hydro power plants has a clear focus on reducing the environmental impact of hydro power."

Earlier this year, Vattenfall completed the investment of €113 million ($148 million) in another hydro power plant at Akkats, in Jokkmokk. The Akkats plant can now supply power to an additional 50,000 homes per year, boosting its capability to 120,000 households. Located near the country's most important hydropower rive, Lule Älv, Akkats was built between 1969-73, and has a generating capacity of 150 MW, enough to supply around 113,000 homes a year.

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