The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has awarded Voith Hydro a $275 million contract for mechanical and electrical upgrades as part of a 15-year modernization and digitization program called Next Generation Niagara (NGN) to extend the operating life of the Niagara Power Project in Lewiston.
Voith won the contract following a competitive bidding process. Its scope of work under this contract includes the design, delivery and installation of major mechanical components, including headcovers and servomotors as well as the refurbishment of operating mechanisms including the generator rotors, runners and other turbine components. A majority of Voith's manufacturing will be fully US-based for the project, reducing the risk of supply-chain delays.
“Being selected to perform strategic work at one of America’s most iconic hydro plants – one of such critical importance to our nation’s electricity grid – makes our entire organization proud,” said Stanley Kocon, president and CEO, Voith Hydro North America. “By allowing Voith to construct and refurbish this equipment with American steel in our York, PA factory, NYPA again is leading the way with critical infrastructure investment and domestic job creation.”
The first turbine outage to update the plant’s mechanical components is scheduled to begin in April 2023. An outage to allow for the digital overhaul of the first unit began late last year and is scheduled to conclude this summer.
Launched in July 2019, the NGN Program improvements will include replacing aging equipment with the latest machinery that reflects advanced digital technologies for optimizing the hydroelectric project's performance. The initiative encompasses four major phases: 1) Design and implementation of an inspection platform to conduct comprehensive inspections of the Robert Moses Plant's penstocks; 2) Replacement of the 630-ton gantry crane that enables disassembly and reassembly of the generating units; 3) Upgrading and digitizing control systems and building a new back-up control room; and 4) Overhaul and/or replacement of mechanical components that have reached the end of their operating life.
