Voith has completed the second turbine upgrade at New Zealand’s Roxburgh Hydropower Station, marking the halfway point in a four-unit modernisation program.
The Roxburgh station, owned by Contact Energy, was built in the 1950s and originally housed eight 40MW turbines. Four of those units are being replaced in phases.
The second upgraded unit was handed over for commercial operation in mid-August 2025 after testing and a 10-day endurance run. Drawing on experience from the first upgrade completed in December 2024, Voith and its New Zealand subcontractors cut on-site implementation time by more than a month. Efficiency tests in January confirmed that the first upgraded turbine met all performance guarantees.
“The upgraded turbines deliver higher output with the same water flow due to the significant increase in efficiency,” said Contact Energy’s Project Delivery Manager, Kirk Pritchard. “Our collaboration with Voith and its subcontractors has been instrumental in such a successful project. With two units operational, we’re on track to modernize this iconic piece of infrastructure that has powered New Zealand for over half a century.”
The third turbine, manufactured at Voith’s plant in India, arrived at Port Chalmers on August 31, 2025. It will be installed after dismantling of the existing unit is complete. Each new stainless-steel runner weighs 28.5 tonnes, measures 3.9 meters in diameter, and is designed to increase energy output.
Raj Vidyarthi, Managing Director & CEO of Voith Hydro India, said: “This project underscores our ability to seamlessly combine the expertise of our global teams, manufacturing excellence and collaboration with Contact Energy and subcontractors for successful execution.”
