En + Group, the world’s leading producer of low-carbon aluminium and largest private sector generator of hydropower, has begun a major upgrade to its Krasnoyarsk hydropower plant. Focused on Hydroelectric Unit No.4, the project’s investments will amount to RUB 350 million.
9 November 2020, Krasnoyarsk - En + Group, the world’s leading producer of low-carbon aluminium and largest private sector generator of hydropower, has begun a major upgrade to its Krasnoyarsk hydropower plant. Focused on Hydroelectric Unit No.4, the project’s investments will amount to RUB 350 million.
The upgrade is part of En+ Group’s ‘New Energy Programme’—a modernization plan designed to boost efficiency across all of its hydroelectric power plants in Siberia. The programme will help the Company reduce its emissions by 2.0 million tons of CO2 per year by 2025. The improvements will also enable it to increase electricity generation by 2.3 TWh compared to when the programme launched in 2007.
Under the ‘New Energy Programme’, each of the 12 hydropower units at Krasnoyarsk HPP are being taken out of operation every six years for maintenance. At Hydroelectric Unit No. 4, the upgrade involves maintenance of the main AC electrical machines and will take seven months. During this time, there will be a replacement of the stator winding of the generator, a part which experiences the greatest load from electricity generation and is made up of between 576 and 1,152 copper rods assembled into a circuit. With work already underway, commissioning of Hydroelectric Unit No. 4 after the major upgrades is scheduled for April 30, 2021.
Mikhail Khardikov, head of the power business at En + Group:
“The upgrades to Hydroelectric Unit No.4 will deliver increased efficiency, reliability and safety. The materials used for the new stator winding are of a considerably higher quality than previous iterations, delivering a significant step change in performance and providing a service life of 40 years. This is another important milestone for our ‘New Energy Programme’, which is on track to secure more reliable and affordable power for the people of Siberia while driving efficiency for our business and reductions in our climate impact.”
