Fifth hydraulic unit launched at Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP
CHEREMUSHKI, Russia. Dec 19 (Interfax) - Russian power generating company OJSC RusHydro has launched the fifth hydraulic unit at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydro-electric power plant (HPP).
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin took part in the hydraulic unit's launch ceremony, an Interfax correspondent reported from the HPP.
Putin pressed a symbolic button to launch the unit, and a monitor displayed its specifications and changes in the HPP's capacity. The meter readings showed that at the moment of the unit's launch, the entire HPP's capacity totaled 1920 MW. For a few seconds, its capacity exceeded 2500 MW.
RusHydro representatives briefed Putin on progress in the station's reconstruction, noting that all of the necessary equipment had been installed strictly according to schedule.
Prior the launch of the new hydro unit, there were four reconstructed blocks at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP. Hydro unit N1 is the plant's fifth operating block and its first brand-new block. Like the other reconstructed blocks, it has a capacity of 640 MW. Equipment for the new unit was provided by OJSC Power Machines , with which RusHydro signed a contract to manufacture ten hydro turbines and nine hydro generators with a capacity of 640 MW each, as well as six excitation systems. The contract was worth 11.7 billion rubles (without VAT).
It is expected that the new units' service period will be boosted to 40 years, and that the maximum key performance indicator of the hydro turbines will reach 96.6%. RusHydro and Power Machines said that the new hydraulic units will possess enhanced cavitation sensitivity and a more efficient process protections system (insufficiency in this area led to devastating consequences in a disaster at the HPP two years ago).
In February, March, August and December of 2010, RusHydro reconstructed four hydro units - NN6, 5, 4 and 3 - that were affected by the disaster.
In 2011, work began on installing new hydro units at the HPP. After the launch of N1, there are plans to launch NN7, 8, and 9 in 2012. RusHydro will also introduce three new blocks per year (including replacing the NN3, 4, 5 and 6 blocks with new ones) so that by the end of 2014 the HPP's reconstruction will be complete. The total cost of the project was previously estimated at around 37 billion rubles. After the HPP is fully reconstructed, its capacity will reach its pre-disaster level of 6400 MW (ten blocks of 640 MW each).
