A new generator rotor is installed in the crater of hydroelectric generating set No. 10 at Votkinskaya HPP

24 march 2023

At Votkinskaya HPP, a new generator rotor was moved from the erection site and installed in the crater of hydroelectric generating set No. 10. The hydroelectric generating set is replaced within the program of complex modernization (PCM) of RusHydro hydro power plants.

Hydroelectric generating set No. 10 was put into operation in 1963, worked for almost 60 years and reached a high degree of wear. Work on the renewal of the hydroelectric generating set was started in summer of 2022, it is planned to complete them in June this year. To date, assembly of the rotor and stator winding of the generator, installation of the distributor and the hydraulic turbine impeller have been completed. The new hydroelectric generating set is manufactured by the Russian manufacturer – Power Machines company. The equipment has improved technical specifications, increased power, is distinguished by reliability and high environmental safety.

Votkinskaya HPP’s program of complex modernization provides for replacement of all ten hydroelectric generating units of the plant. The first hydroelectric generating unit was replaced in 2017, and then new machines were commissioned annually. At the moment, six hydroelectric generating units have already been replaced. After the work is completed, the plant’s capacity will increase to 1,150 MW, which is 13% higher than before the start of modernization.

RusHydro is implementing a Program of complex modernization of hydropower facilities that includes replacing half the turbines, generators and transformers at its hydropower and pumped storage hydropower plants. Such a large-scale program of modernizing obsolete and worn-out equipment is unique and unprecedented in the domestic power industry. Its specific feature is the focus not on selective replacement of individual units and assemblies, but on a comprehensive modernization of hydropower facilities as single technological system with a replacement or reconstruction of main and auxiliary equipment, general power plant systems and hydraulic structures.

Over the 11 years of PCM implementation, the installed capacity of RusHydro’s hydropower plants has increased by 559 MW, which can be compared to adding another large HPP to the company. During this time, RusHydro has replaced or modernized 132 hydro turbines, 117 generators, 92 power transformers, as well as over 10,000 units of auxiliary equipment.