The current LEM programme marks the first time the US project has been refurbished since it went into service in 1973. The US$135M upgrade will allow Blenheim-Gilboa to produce more power from the same amount of water while extending the facility's service life.
The newly refurbished generating unit resumed operation on 1 June after being out of service since mid-September 2007. Despite the challenges of some delayed equipment deliveries, NYPA workers were able to complete the upgrade on schedule.
The three other pump-turbine generators at the Blenheim-Gilboa project operated most of that time, except for a seven-week period when it was necessary to shut down the 1040MW project to facilitate the work. During that time the water level in the facility's upper reservoir was reduced in order to accomplish the replacement of a spherical valve on the refurbished unit. The valve controls the flow of water into the project powerhouse.
In September this year, NYPA will commence work on a third pump-turbine generator, with that unit slated to be returned to service in June 2009 following a schedule used for the first two units. The work on the final pump generating unit will be undertaken in the same manner the following year, with the LEM programme scheduled for completion in June 2010.
NYPA is currently conducting a LEM programme at its St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Project in Massena, with that initiative expected to be completed by 2013. It also completed a 15-year upgrade of its Niagara power project, near Niagara Falls, in late 2006 to enhance the efficiency of the project's main generating facility and extend its operating life.
