Krasnoyarsk, October 10, 2018 – Krasnoyarsk HPP (part of En+ Group) is continuing with the planned refurbishment of its generation Unit #5, which includes replacement of the runner and turbine gear, as part of a large-scale programme to modernize the En+ Group’s Siberian HPPs and reduce GHG emissions by 2 mtpa of CO2 in the regions where the Company operates.
The old runner was dismantled on schedule earlier today. The works were carried out by GES-Engineering (part of EuroSibEnergo-Engineering, a subsidiary of EuroSibEnergo). The programme includes a refurbishment of the main equipment and replacement of the secondary control wiring.
The Unit #5 modernization program is scheduled to take several months. The new runner will increase the reliability and efficiency of the generation unit and the overall technological and economic performance of the power plant. The modernized Unit #5 with the new runner will be launched in February 2019. Hydropower turbines with new runners, whose power specifications have been confirmed by model tests, offer better performance compared to those already used by the HPPs as they are based on an innovative blade system which assures enhanced efficiency and dynamic stability of the modernized turbines.
The Unit #5 runner is the second to be replaced at the HPP. In April 2018, Krasnoyarsk HPP launched its Unit #9 with the new runner. Several months of operation have demonstrated that the refurbished generation unit has better power and cavitation characteristics, including reduced vibration, capacity oscillations and cavitation wear. The efficiency of the unit also rose from 94% to 96.7%.
The new runners were manufactured by Leningrad Metals Works (part of Power Machines Group). Each runner weighs 244 tn and is 8.5 m in diameter. The equipment was delivered to Krasnoyarsk HPP in the autumn of 2017 via the Northern Sea Route through the Belomor-Baltic Canal, the White Sea, the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea and by River Yenisei to the pier nearby the HPP. The entire route was 6000 km.
Replacement of the runners at Krasnoyarsk HPP is part of the New Energy comprehensive program to upgrade En+ Group’s HPPs in Siberia. The installation of new impellers and other equipment is also underway at the hydro power plants in Bratsk and Ust-Ilimsk. Once the first stage of the New Energy program has been implemented, En+ Group’s Siberian hydropower plants will increase their production of environmentally friendly electricity by 1.5 TWh per year based on the same water volumes passing through the turbines. This will enable the Group to partially replace its utilization of energy from coal-fired power plants with HPP energy: the upgrade will save up to 800,000 tons of coal per year and reduce the GHG emissions of the coal-fired power plants by 2 million tons per year, which will have a positive impact on the natural environment in Siberia. Following the modernization, the efficiency of the upgraded equipment will increase by 5-8%, and the cost of repairs is expected to decline.
Unit #5 was launched in 1968; by the date of the start of refurbishment it had been operated for ca. 247,410 hours and generated ca. 96.5 TWh of electricity.
