Upgrade of hydropower unit #11 has started at Volzhskaya HPP
19 june 2023
Replacement of the generator at hydropower unit #11 has started at the Volzhskaya HPP. The equipment upgrade at RusHydro’s hydropower plants is accomplished under the Program of Complex Modernization (PCM).
The generator of hydropower unit #11 has been in operation since 1959 and is past its nominal service life. The new hydroelectric generator, manufactured by the Russian company Siloviye Mashiny, was designed to incorporate advances in power engineering and features improved technical specifications. Replacement of the generator is planned to be finished in April 2024.
The upgrade of the hydropower unit includes the replacement of rotor, stator, thrust bearing, upper bracket, generator bearing, auxiliary equipment and control system. The assembly of the hydropower generator stator has been started at the machine hall erection site. The stator housing was assembled into a "ring", welded, wedges were installed and welded to the flanges. The active steel of the stator is being laid.
As of today, all 22 hydro turbines and 18 generators have been upgraded at the Volzhskaya HPP. The replacement of all generators is scheduled to be completed in 2026. The new hydropower units are more efficient and have already enabled an increase in the capacity of the Volzhskaya HPP from 2,541 MW to 2,734 MW. The installed capacity of the plant will gain 2,744.5 MW in the longer run.
In addition to upgrading the hydropower equipment under the PCM, the replacement of the dam spillway gates and thrash racks and construction of a new integrated gas-insulated switchgear application for 500 kV voltage is ongoing.
RusHydro is implementing the Program of Complex Modernization (PCM) of hydropower facilities that plans to replace half of the turbines, generators and transformers at its HPPs and PSPPs. Such a large-scale program of upgrading obsolete and worn-out equipment is unique and unprecedented in the domestic power industry. It is distinguished by a focus not on selective replacement of individual units and assemblies, but on a comprehensive modernization of hydropower generation facilities as a single technological system with the replacement or upgrade of the main and auxiliary equipment, plant service systems and hydraulic structures.
Over 11 years of the PCM, the installed capacity of RusHydro’s hydropower plants has increased by 565 MW, which is comparable to another large HPP added to the energy holding. 133 hydro turbines, 119 generators, 95 power transformers as well as over 10,000 units of auxiliary equipment have been replaced or upgraded over this time.
