Active in Asia

In November 2010 alstom inaugurated its new hydropower manufacturing facility at Tianjin in China. With an investment of just under 110M Euros (US$155M), the facility is Alstom’s first carbon-neutral manufacturing site in China and will be known as alstom-hydro China (AHC).

The new facility will have a global technology centre where the company will carry out R&D activities and test turbines developed for its customers. It is capable of delivering up to 30 turbine and generator units per year with outputs ranging from 20MW to 1000MW. AHC will be Alstom Hydro’s third global technology centre following the opening of similar centres in India and France.

Commenting on the new facility, Philippe Joubert, president of Alstom Power, said: “AHC places us in a great position to respond to demand and execute our order backlog in the Asian region.”

The company is playing an active role in the Chinese hydropower industry and has signed contracts for turbines and generators totalling 43GW, out of which approximately 28GW are already in commercial operation. In November 2010 the company won a contract worth US$70M from Jiangxi Province Xianjiang Water Control Project Headquarters, for the supply of 5x40MW bulb turbine and generator units to the new Xiajiang hydropower station currently under construction on the Ganjiang river. The plant is due to become operational in the summer of 2013. Equipment for the project will be manufactured and supplied by the company’s new manufacturing site AHC at Tianjian.

“This latest contract is a sign of the healthy growth of the Chinese hydropower market,” commented Anders Maltesen, general manager of Alstom Hydro China.

Another achievement for Alstom was the March 2011 delivery of the world’s first self-closing electronic ring gate control system to the Ahai hydropower project in China. The system supplied by Alstom has hydraulic synchronisation which means that in an emergency the system can close by itself, cutting the flow of water to stop the turbine. With a diameter of 10m, a height of 2.6m and weighing 110 tonnes, the Ahai ring gate is the biggest one in the world.

The system is described as being extremely reliable, offering easy operation and maintenance, high precision and outstanding safety compared with traditional ring gate systems. The process of model and product development, design, manufacture, assembly and testing took just eight and a half months and is the result of effective collaboration between Tianjin Alstom Hydro and the company’s research and development centre in Grenoble, France.

“The successful application of this revolutionary ring gate control system and positive test results will ensure the continued successful delivery of the Ahai project to our customer,” said Richard Yeung, head of Alstom Power China.

The Ahai Dam, owned by Yunnan Jinsha River Hydropower Company, is currently under construction and comprises 5×400MW Francis hydro turbine generator units. The five turbines are being supplied by Alstom under a contract worth approximately US$125M and the first unit will be commissioned in spring 2012.

Alstom is involved in other major hydro power projects in China including: Three Gorges dam (14×700MW units); Guanyinyan (3×600MW units); Liyuan (4×600MW units); and Xianjiaba (4×800MW units). The 800 MW turbines designed, engineered and manufactured by Alstom for Xianjiaba are the world’s largest hydro turbines ever manufactured to date.

India

Contract awards in India have also helped Alstom to increase its company presence there. In 2008, Alstom Projects India Limited (APIL) was awarded a contract with Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation for the Lower Jurala turnkey hydroelectric project, located on the river Krishna in Andhra Pradesh.

Under the contract, Alstom will design, supply, install, test and commission 6x40MW capacity bulb turbine generator units, along with providing auxiliary and ancillary equipment. The units and their supplements will be manufactured at the Alstom Vadodara facility in India and put into operation by 2013.

Alstom was also selected to provide power generation equipment for the 2000MW Subansiri project located in Assam. Working for the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, Alstom is responsible for the supply of a total of 8x250MW vertical shaft Francis turbines, the digital governing system, butterfly valves, plus 116kV vertical generators and static excitation system for all components.

After successful model testing of the hydraulic design at Alstom’s Grenoble hydro centre in France, the main components will be manufactured at the company’s facility in Baroda, India. The plant is due to come into operation in 2012.

Vietnam

By 23 December 2010 unit one of Son La hydropower station, the largest in Vietnam, had successfully completed 72 hours of a trial run on full load at 400MW. Along with Electricity of Vietnam, Alstom joined in with the celebrations of this achievement.

Alstom had been a key supplier of equipment for the project. In October 2007 the company signed the 2400MW Son La hydro plant contract for the design, engineering, manufacturing and delivery of 6x400MW Francis turbines and generators, balance of plant, as well as supervision of installation, testing and commissioning.

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