va-tech-hydro has signed a major new contract, valued at more than US$83.4M, to build a pumped storage power plant in Tongbai, China, for the Zhejiang Provincial Electric Power Company on behalf of the Tongbai Pumped Storage Power Company.
Manufacture has already started on the offshore work and construction will take 60 months, with full commissioning due at the end of 2006.
Tongbai is located in the Zhejiang Province near the city of Tiantai about 400km south of Shanghai. This new plant is one of the largest pumped storage power plants in China and provides peak load energy. It has a total installed capacity of more than 1300MW accommodated in a large cavern. The full scope of work at the project includes:
• Four sets of Francis pump turbines, spherical valves and auxiliaries.
• Four motor generators.
• Balance of plant (eg, excitation system, digital protection system, computer supervisory and control system, static frequency converter).
The contract marks the first use of Neptun, VA Tech Hydro’s new complete and integrated automation system for hydro power plants. Neptun is based on the integration of all electronic parts of the different subsystems (eg, automation, protection, turbine governor) whilst preserving their individual functions, and represents a new generation of hydro power automation systems designed to meet the demands of the modern market, says the company.
‘This is the third major order for a pumped storage power plant VA Tech Hydro has won in China in recent years,’ says Christian Habegger, chairman of the VA Tech Hydro managing board.
‘It is a major emerging energy market and we are well placed to bring our range of experience and expertise to work with local partners to make sure that the best possible solutions are found.’