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HyPowerCustomers magazine for Voith Siemens Hydro

November 2003

Summary Editorial

Expertise in automationLast step to digital governors at Danube hydropower stations

New control system for Germany’s Friedrichsau

Technological leadershipOpening ceremony at Europe’s most modern pumped storage plant

Research to reduce hydro-abrasive wear

Customer contactsInfra 2020: Sponsoring the third Brazilian Forum of Electric Energy

ERLAC X prizes for best paper presentations

New brochures

Waterpower XIII, 2003 – Very well attended

Voith Siemens Hydro, USA,names new officers

EssayThe sound of the waves

EditorialThe future of hydro power: back-up against blackout.

Focus on AfricaEast African countries liberalize their energy sectors

Gilgel Gibe on the way

Improved power generation reliability in Tanzania

80 MW unit added to Gitaru in less than two years

Market splintersAnother Indian milestone:Omkareshwar

Baspa II, IndiaLargest private hydropower station connected to the grid

Successful model acceptance for Tai’An, China

Operation training for Middle Marsyangdi,in Nepal

Partnering and project expertisePartnering with Hydro Tasmania in Gordon modernization

Aimorés, Brazil, begins operation

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The future of hydro power: back-up against blackout.

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Dr. Hubert LienhardChairman of the Boardof Voith Siemens HydroPower Generation

Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation

Dear readers, dear customers,

The recent blackouts in parts of the United States, Canada,Great Britain, Denmark and Italy revealed something thatwas unexpected by the general public of these and otherindustrialized countries: We are fast approaching the limitsof grid capacity, stability and reliable electricity delivery toan extent that is remarkable for post world war II times.

Have any industrialized countries experienced much morethan flickering of light during the last 40 to 50 years, exceptfor emergency situations such as severe weather? Did weexperience regular power outages or interruptions of elec-tricity supply?

No. It is a given that a developed and industrialized societyexperiences an endless supply of undisturbed and safeelectricity.

Reading the many responses and comments followingthese blackouts, you might have noticed that hydropowerstations, especially during the Northeastern blackout inNorth America, were able to continue operation and stabi-lize their grids or bring them back on line much faster.

We were especially proud that customers rewarded us withsome direct comments regarding the performance of ourmachines. A telephone call on the 15th of August betweenour staff and Al Zelinski from St. Lawrence hydropower sta-tion of the New York Power Authority (NYPA) confirmedthat “unit no. 26 reverted to speed control unsynchronizedmode of operation [this is the most stable governor con-trol mode] as you [Voith Siemens Hydro] designed it to doand then ran ‘rock solid’ for the remainder of the incident”.Further, he mentioned how much better it would have beenif NYPA had 16 unit “26” in service instead of only one.

Only hydro power can provide capacities and offer themany ancillary benefits that easily match or pass otherfuel types in generation. One of its great attributes is toprovide quick and flexible connection or disconnection to the grid, and for this reason, it is ideal to balance peakor low load demand from the grid in large capacities.

Future electricity supply can only be safe and reliable, ifthe energy mix in any country is done in a balanced con-cept to provide the power needed, with environmentallyoptimum solutions, and meet Kyoto green gas reductiongoals at the same time.

Not an easy task: hydro power stands by – and so do weas a supplier – to support operators, utilities and decisionmakers with the advantages it has had for hundreds ofyears and to still develop solutions that make this fueleven more environmentally friendly.

Whether this happens in Africa – the market focus of thisissue – or other areas, we are always available to help you.

Whatever your opinions and business interests are: please do not hesitate to let me know what they are!

Yours sincerely

My e-mail address is [email protected]

Dr. Hubert Lienhard

Focus on Africa

Energy is a basic requirement for human development, yet over 70 % ofpeople living in rural East Africa have no access to grid electricity or anyother form of modern commercial energy. Even though East Africa’s poten-tial for hydro power is high, only a fraction is developed. Hydro powerprojects are capital-intensive, one reason why African governments are notundertaking them as fast as they could. The deregulation and liberalizationnow taking place within the energy sectors of East African countries such asEthiopia, Kenya, Tanzania aim especially at attracting private investors,who are also prepared to consider the development of small hydro powerpotential.

Ethiopia – The water tower of AfricaEthiopia occupies an exceptional posi-tion in tropical Africa. Well-irrigatedhighlands and rivers abounding in wa-ter, which fall from great elevationsinto canyon-like valleys have given thiscountry the reputation of the “watertower of Africa”. Its economically fea-sible hydropower reserves (an esti-mated 260,000 GWh/ year) far exceedits own needs. These are ideal condi-tions for supplying the energy-starvedneighboring countries. However, lessthan 2 % of the precious hydro poten-tial has been developed. Less than15 % of the population has access toelectricity. In addition, there are ambi-tious plans to develop the food pro-cessing industry, the mining sectorand the tourism sector, all of wich willrely on electricity.

cooperation in sharing the Nile resour-ces has been extended, with nine ofthe ten Nile basin states participating.

Tanzania – The Country of the Great LakesTanzania is bounded in the North byLake Victoria, in the West by LakeTanganyika, and in the South by LakeNyasa, plus the inland lakes, includ-ing Rukwa, Manyra, Eyasi and Natron.In addition it has many rivers with themain river basins Rufiji, Kagera, Mala-garasi, Ruvuma, Pangani, Wami andMare and several coastal rivers, ofwhich all have hydropower potential,most of it undeveloped.

The government has recognized thefundamental importance of sustained,reliable energy supplies for the devel-opment of Ethiopia’s economy andthat of its neighboring countries, andhas begun an extensive reform of theenergy market. The liberalization ofthe market is above all intended toattract private investors.

Because domestic and more particu-larly industrial energy consumption is low in Ethiopia, regional integra-tion and the interconnection to othernational power grids is paramount.With the completion of different hy-droelectric projects, which are nowup and running, and the implementa-tion of power projects by the privatesector, Ethiopia would have excesspower for possible export. In addition,

East African countries liberalize their energy sectors

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Agriculture dominates Tanzania’s econ-omy, accounting for 56 % of the GrossDomestic Product (GDP), providing85 % of exports and employing 90 %of the work force. Cultivated crops are,however, limited to only 4 % of the landarea. Industry accounts for 15 % of theGDP and is mainly limited to process-ing agricultural products and lighterconsumer products. Yet current ener-gy production does not meet demand.Many rural regions have no access toelectricity. The economic growth, whichis necessary to guide the country outof poverty, is also lacking.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineralsis responsible for all energy-relatedmatters in Tanzania. Under the Min-istry, Tanzania Electric Supply Com-pany Ltd. (TANESCO), a state ownedcompany, was formerly the only com-pany responsible for generation, trans-mission and distribution of electricity.

Tanzania has also realized that a de-pendable electricity supply is essentialfor economic growth and decided toderegulate the energy sector and toallow private investment.

Tanzania has an estimated hydropow-er potential of 4,000 MW, of whichonly about 14% has been harnessedso far. The exploitation of the hydro-power energy still untapped would def-initely help Tanzania and other neigh-bouring countries foster economicgrowth and support the countries’ pov-erty reduction efforts.

Kenya – development based on hydro power The Kenyan government has been successfully implementing a programof economic liberalization and reformsince 1993. Deregulation has helpedto boost most sectors of the economyand to attract private capital.

Kenya’s energy program is largelybacked by foreign investment. How-ever, electrical shortages remain a key barrier to development within the country.

At present, around 80% of power sup-plied in the country is generated fromhydro power stations. Most hydro potential is found on the Tana andTurkwel rivers. It is estimated that thetechnically feasible hydro potential is 4,710 GWh/year, of which 62% hasbeen developed. No new hydro plantsare currently under construction, butexisting facilities have potential forupgrading. On the other hand, thereare several small, mini and micro hy-dro plants in operation, with a totalcapacity of around 14 MW, being con-sidered for development by privateinvestors.

Focus on Africa: Ethiopia

The 184 MW Gilgel Gibe hydropower project is located in south centralEthiopia, about 270 km from Addis Ababa. Upon completion, the project will contribute about 40 % of the present installed capacity of the country.The operator is government-owned Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation(EEPCO), the main financier is the World Bank group (IDA) along with theEuropean Investment Bank (EIB) as a co-financier. The construction work on the powerhouse, tunnel and dam is now nearing completion. The com-missioning of one of the three units is expected in November 2003. VoithSiemens Hydro is responsible for the mechanical design, manufacture, de-livery, erection and commissioning of the three 66.7 MW Francis turbineunits, including the digital governor system and turbine inlet valves.

Gilgel Gibe on the way

An intensive training for a group often EEPCO staff was held in spring,2002, at Voith Siemens Hydro in Hei-denheim.In addition to traditional train-ing on design, manufacturing, control,erection, commissioning, operationand maintenance, following issueswere also part of the agenda: qualityand procurement processes, bearingbehavior as well as general mechani-cal and electrical features. The groupalso witnessed the approval of the firstrunner and guide bearing for GilgelGibe, manufacturing quality assurancedemonstrations such as tensile andbending testing, and paid a visit tothe hydraulic testing lab. The trainingwas rounded up by excursions to smallhydropower stations, some bulb instal-lations and also a site visit to Germa-ny’s impressive Goldisthal pumpedstorage stations.

The training agenda was tailored toexact customer specifications andspecific requirements for the futureoperation of the plant.

Voith Siemens Hydro is very pleasedwith the results of the complete pro-ject and is looking forward to contin-uing the good relationship developedwith EEPCO on their second stagehydropower station at Gilgel Gibe.

For more information:[email protected]

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Water Household SystemOne part of the automation system is the advanced Water HouseholdSystem. This is a special online soft-ware system implemented on thestandard automation hardware.Among other things, the systemconsists of online joint control andpower generation planning, includ-ing the consideration of start andstop costs, etc.

Focus on Africa: Tanzania

To get accustomed to the new sys-tem, the power plant operators weregiven basic and advanced computerand system training by Voith SiemensHydro. During the implementationperiod, the staff was able to get agood grasp of the new technology.This advanced training with the well-proven Voith Siemens Hydro technol-ogy enables the smooth operation of the power plant.

The 200 MW Kidatu Hydropower Station in Tanzania, owned by TANESCO(Tanzania Electric Supply Company Ltd.), was built in two stages, with twounits being commissioned in 1974 and two more in 1978. Over the years,the control system underwent various rehabilitation programs and exten-sions, resulting in a conglomeration of systems that made service andmaintenance of the plant extremely difficult. Voith Siemens Hydro of Nor-way has recently completed a total replacement of the existing outdatedautomation, communication and protection systems.

Improved power generation reliability in Tanzania

AutomationVoith Siemens Hydro engineers re-placed all parts of the existing controlsystem with a state-of-the-art auto-mation system and a PC-based Man-Machine-Interface (MMI). The gener-ating units, auxiliary systems and the switchyard were equipped withautonomous Unit Controllers (UC) on which all the unit-specific soft-ware runs.

After a short period of operation, theWater Household System has signifi-cantly improved the average energyoutput of the power plant, and the extrainvestment has already paid for itself.

ProtectionThe SIPROTEC family from Siemenswas chosen as the new protectionsystem. Each unit has been equippedwith duplicated electrical and mechani-cal protection systems based on state-of-the-art, self-monitoring standardequipment.

Voith Siemens Hydro has prepared aRelay Coordination Study for the wholescheme. Due to the new protectionscheme of Kidatu, grid stability andpower supply reliability in Tanzaniaare improved noticeably.

CommunicationDue to technology failure, poor main-tenance, landslides and bushfires, all communication between the pow-erhouse, dam and switchyard hadbroken down. Voith Siemens Hydrospecialists, together with the client,evaluated several ways to solve theproblem and decided to install apower line carrier system (PLC).

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The necessary work on the importanttransmission line was planned in detailand completed during a very short shut-down and interruption of the powertransmission. With its new equipment,the automation system is already on-line with the remote control communi-cation to the TANESCO Load DispatchCenter.

DocumentationThe last, but not the least importantpart of the rehabilitation project, was

the improvement of the plant docu-mentation system. All information isnow compiled in one comprehensivedocumentation system. From now onthe operation and maintenance staffcan get a clear overview of all detailsin a short time and perform necessaryservices more effectively.


Focus on Africa: Kenya

When tender documents for interna-tional competitive bidding were issuedin 1997, a very ambitious time frameoutlining an implementation period of just 25 months was proposed. Fora project of this magnitude, the timeframe seemed unachieveable. VoithSiemens Hydro accepted the chal-lenge and promised an even faster pro-ject implementation of just 22 months.

The Gitaru power station is located on the Tana River, about 160 km northeast of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Owned and operated by Kenya Electrici-ty Generating Company Ltd. (KenGen), the plant with its two 72.5 MW verti-cal Francis units began commercial operation in 1978. In this initial phase,the civil design and construction had already made provisions for a thirdunit. Nevertheless, it was not before the second half of the 1990s, whenKenya’s electricity demand began to exceed supply, that the decision toinstall additional generating capacity was taken. A third machine wouldprovide additional energy during the rainy season, give year-round peakingpower and increase KenGen’s operational flexibility.

80 MW unit added to Gitaru in less than two years

Simultaneous work to reduce implementation scheduleThe machines at the Gitaru plant rankamong the largest generating units inthe Kenyan system. The combined ro-tor-shaft weight of the original 72.5 MWmachines reaches approximately 175 tons. The additional vertical-shaftFrancis turbine-generator unit, whichVoith Siemens Hydro was to install,was designed to be capable of deliver-ing an even higher maximum continu-ous output of 80 MW. Since typicalerection programs for machines ofthis size can easily take 30 monthsand more, it was necessary to recon-sider the traditional erection sequences.As the single turnkey contractor, VoithSiemens Hydro was responsible forthe timely and efficient managementof all critical aspects of the project

including design approvals, interfac-ing with existing station systems andrelevant Kenyan regulatory authoritiesas well as customs clearances throughthe port of Mombasa. To guaranteeminimum duration, simultaneous tur-bine and generator erection activitieswere maximized and the impact of thecivil works on them minimized. A closemanagement of all activities and sub-contractors involved was essential tothe success of the project.

Flexible project managementsecures final successLate into the project time line, it be-came clear that the civil works wouldbe completed late. This created aneven shorter time for the completionof the remaining turbine and genera-tor build sequences and commission-

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ing. In spite of these changing circum-stances, Voith Siemens Hydro was ableto adapt its original program accord-ingly and also cope with further delayscaused by customs clearance prob-lems. Dry commissioning of turbine-generator auxiliary equipment beganin early October 1999. At the begin-ning of November the unit was watered-up and synchronized with the Kenyangrid. Commercial trials began in thatsame month – less than two yearsfrom the initial contract award.


Market splinters

Voith Siemens Hydro, in consortiumwith Jaiprakash Industries Ltd., India,has been awarded the contract to sup-ply and install the new Omkareshwarhydropower station. The 123 millionEuro order covers the supply of allelectromechanical equipment, includ-ing eight vertical Francis turbines andsynchronous generators, each with a rated capacity of 65 MW, associat-ed auxiliaries and a 220 kV outdoorswitchyard. The project is located onthe Narmada River in India’s federalstate of Madhya Pradesh. After com-missioning in 2007, Omkareshwar willbe among India’s largest hydropowerstations with a total installed outputof 520 MW.


Another Indian milestone: Omkareshwar

At a formal signing ceremony of thecommissioning certificates for thethree units of the Baspa II hydropow-er station in India, the generators,supplied by Voith Siemens HydroPower Generation, have been hand-ed over officially to the customer,Jaiprakash Hydro Power Limited.

The Baspa II power plant has suppliedelectricity from the Himalayas into theIndian grid since June 2003.

With a maximum output of 360 MVA,the run-of-river plant at an elevationof 1,825 m is reducing the peak loadshortage in the Federal State of Hima-chal Pradesh as well as in the GreaterNew Delhi area. Voith Siemens Hydro,as consortium leader had been award-ed the contract to provide the com-

plete electro-mechanical and controlequipment for Baspa II together withVA Tech in January 1999. Baspa II is the largest hydropower project inIndia operated by an IPP – an Inde-pendent Power Producer, JaiprakashHydro Power Limited (JHPL).

The award of this project marked thebeginning of successful cooperationbetween two market leaders in thearea of hydropower in India, Jaipra-kash Industries, the parent companyof JHPL and Voith Siemens Hydro.

Both companies signed a general co-operation agreement in November2000. Recent orders for the hydro-power stations of Baglihar and Omka-reshwar (see left) show the continuedsuccess of this collaboration and alsothe substantial contribution of VoithSiemens Hydro to the development of hydropower potential in India.

For more information:[email protected] 12

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Baspa II:Largest private hydropower station

connected to the grid

Market splinters

and will supply four complete units:pump-turbines, motor-generators,spherical valves, supervisory andcontrol systems.

The first unit is planned to be commissioned end of 2005.


Another successful model acceptance test recently took place in the Corporate Technology facilities of Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation.The model for the reversible pump-turbines for the new pumped storageplant Tai’An in China underwent extensive testing.

Successful model acceptance for Tai’An

In the presence of experts of the cus-tomer, Shangdong Taishan PumpedStorage Power Station Co., Ltd., effi-ciency and other performances guar-anteed, as well as proof of secure op-eration of the prototype could be bestfulfilled. During a customer witnesstest with Shangdong Taishan Pumped

Storage Power Station Co., Ltd, allparameters guaranteed were met.

Tai’An hydropower plant will be equipp-ed with four reversible pump-turbineunits, each with an output of 250 MW.Voith Siemens Hydro was awarded thecontract at the end of November 2002

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Nepal’s most important energy resources are biomass and hydropower. Currently, the country relieson economic progress throughtourism, the labor-intensive smalland medium-sized industries and– in the long term – the export ofelectrical energy to India. At pre-sent, only approximately 1.5 % of the country’s commercially usable hydropower potential ofaround 25,000 MW is developed.

Another hydropower station, MiddleMarsyangdi, with an installed capacityof 72 MW, will be put into operation in mid-2005.

The turbines – two Francis turbineswith a capacity of 36 MW each – andthe inlet valves and controls are sup-plied by Voith Siemens Hydro. Andnot only these: the services providedalso include the communication of expertise for the optimum operationof the plant after completion. VoithSiemens Hydro trainers gave theirexpertise on hydraulics, maintenanceand process technology to four guests

Operation training for Middle Marsyangdi

of Nepal Electricity Authority duringone month in Heidenheim. They deep-ened their new knowledge throughvisits in the Goldisthal and Glemshydropower plants. During the finalexam 60 technical questions had to be answered. All trainees passed withflying colors. “We learned a lot duringthe four weeks and are now well-versedin operating our hydropower plant,”said plant manager Sunil KumarDhungel.


Training on the job for the guest from Nepal

Middle Marsyangdi gates

Partnering and project expertise

Partnering with Hydro Tasmania in Gordon modernization

Hydro Tasmania’s Manager, PowerSchemes, Simon Krohn, said that the project objective was to improvethe reliability and availability of themachines in readiness for HydroTasmania’s entry into the NationalElectricity Market. “Gordon powerstation will be a key asset in meetingpeak load demands,” Mr. Krohn said.“Since the power station was com-missioned in 1978 it has served Tas-mania as a base load station duringperiods of low rainfall, when genera-tion from our run-of-the-river assetsis also low. The refurbishment of theseunits will prepare them for their newrole as a peak generation plant.”

An alliance agreement has been formed between Hydro Tasmania and VoithFuji Hydro, Kawasaki, Japan, for the modernization and optimization of thehydroelectric equipment at Gordon power station, end of 2002.

Mr. Krohn said that the alliance agree-ment with Voith Fuji Hydro has thepotential to deliver better outcomes ina shorter time frame than traditionalcontract arrangements. As the presi-dent of Voith Fuji Hydro, Dr. MartinKuechle adds: “Being the Japan basedentity of Voith Siemens Hydro PowerGeneration, Voith Fuji Hydro is able toprovide our customer, Hydro Tasma-nia, with the comprehensive expertiseand state-of-the-art technology of theleader in hydro power modernization.”

Hydro Tasmania is the largest renew-able energy generator in Australia,owning and operating 2,262 MW of

hydro power plants. This project isone of a series of planned upgradeprojects that are part of Hydro Tasma-nia’s 10-year program of efficiencyupgrades and refurbishments.

The Gordon power station generatesenergy from inflows into Lake Gordonand Lake Pedder in South-West Tas-mania. With three 150 MW Francisturbines, it is the highest capacitypower station in Tasmania.


Lake Padder Wineglass Bay, Tasmania

For Voith Siemens Hydro’s Brazilianunit, the construction of the Aimoréspower plant, located on the Doce Riverin the south eastern state of MinasGerais, is one of the most importantongoing projects. All of the threeKaplan runners have already arrivedat the site and the first machine willstart operating in December.The pro-ject is progressing smoothly as sched-uled. Once the last generating unithas begun operation in May 2004, the power station will have a totalcapacity of 336.75 MW.

Voith Siemens Hydro is carrying outthe project under an EPC (EngineeringProcurement and Construction) con-tract, which stipulates a flat rate forall work, materials, equipment sup-plies, installation and engineeringservices.

In this project, Voith Siemens Hydrois working for the CHA-HydroelectricConsortium of Aimorés, consisting of the partners “Vale do Rio Doce”,the largest Brazilian mining and logis-tics company, and the Brazilian elec-tricity company CEMIG, CompanhiaEnergética de Minas Gerais.


Aimorés, Brazil, begins operation

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Expertise in automation

Voith Siemens Hydro of Austria wasrecently awarded the 3.5 million Eurocontract for automating four Danubepower plants, thus continuing its suc-cessful collaboration with Austria’slargest producer of electric power,VERBUND. Voith Siemens Hydro hasalready installed digital governors infour of VERBUND’s nine run-of-riverpower plants. These generate a totalof more than 12 billion kWh, whichaccounts for approximately one quar-ter of Austria’s total power produc-tion. The order for Aschach, Wallsee,Ybbs, and Altenwörth power stationsincludes the delivery of 25 digital gov-ernors, speed sensing and feedbacktransmitters, the reconstruction ofboth control valves and the shutdowncircuit. The first unit will be commis-sioned at the beginning of 2004, thecomplete refurbishment of all powerplants should be finished by the endof 2008.


AschachType: Run-of-river Production in a normal year:1,617.4 million kWhNominal capacity: 287,400 kWUnits: 4 Turbines: vertical Kaplan Mean gross head: 15.3 mMaximum flow: 2,040 m3/sWeir system: 5 weir openingsNavigation locks: 2 (230 x 24 m)Barrage length: 40 kmInitial construction period: 1959-64Province: Upper Austria

WallseeType: Run-of-river Production in a normal year:1,318.8 million kWhNominal capacity: 210,000 kWUnits: 6 Turbines: vertical Kaplan Mean gross head: 10.8 mMaximum flow: 2,700 m3/sWeir system: 6 weir openingsNavigation locks: 2 (230 x 24 m)Barrage length: 25 kmInitial construction period: 1965-68Province: Lower Austria/Upper Austria

Last step to digital governors at Danube hydropower stations

Photos: Courtesy of VERBUND Austria

Ybbs

Type: Run-of-river

Production in a normal year:

1,335.9 million kWh

Nominal capacity: 236,500 kW

Units: 7

Turbines: 6 vertical Kaplan

1 horizontal Kaplan bulb

Mean gross head: 10.9 m

Maximum flow: 2,650 m3/s

Weir system: 5 weir openings

Navigation locks: 2 (230 x 24 m)

Barrage length: 34 km

Initial construction period: 1954-59

Province: Lower Austria

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In May 2003, SWU (Ulm MunicipalWorks) entrusted Voith Siemens Hydrowith the delivery of a new control sys-tem for its Friedrichsau hydropowerstation. This project further consoli-dates a cooperation, which had itssuccessful beginnings with the mod-ernization of the Donaustetten hydro-power plant.

The Voith Kaplan turbine has been in trouble-free service at Friedrichs-au hydropower station for the past 50 years. Each year its generatorsproduce al-most 50 million kWh ofenergy, approximately the power foran average of 14,000 households.

New control system for Germany’s Friedrichsau

AltenwörthType: Run-of-river Production in a normal year:1,967.6 million kWhNominal capacity: 328,000 kWUnits: 9Turbines: horizontal Kaplan bulb Mean gross head: 15 mMaximum flow: 2,700 m3/sWeir system: 6 weir openingsNavigation locks: 2 (230 x 24 m)Barrage length: 30 km

Initial construction period: 1973-76Province: Lower Austria

A new control system will now trans-fer the system to automatic operationas early as October 2003. This repre-sents a very short delivery time, madepossible by the standardized mod-ules of the VSHycon Efficient Systemand the continuing partnership be-tween SWU and the specialists atVoith Siemens Hydro.


Technological leadership

On 30th September 2003, Goldisthal in Thuringia, Germany, at present Europe’s most advanced pumped-storage plant, received its official acceptance for commercial operation. Including Germany’s ChancellorGerhard Schröder and the Prime Minister of Thuringia,Dieter Althaus, the owner and operator Vattenfall Euro-pe AG welcomed numerous government officials andindustry leaders to the inauguration.

Opening ceremony at Europe’s most modern pumped storage plant

CEOs are pleased about the Voith Siemens Hydro gifts for the Goldisthal visitor center from left to right: Reinhardt Hassa, Vattenfall and Dr. Hermut Kormann, Voith AG

80 related industrial jobs in the Thu-ringia region. Moreover, the projecthas also resulted in an additional floodprotection area and water reservoir of2.9 million m3 for use in dry periods.

The pump-turbines, each rated at 265 MW, were supplied in a consor-tium with VA Tech Hydro and CKDBlansko Engineering, in which VoithSiemens Hydro Power Generation was primarily responsible for the hy-draulic design and the entire controlsystem, including the technology ofvariable-speed turbine control in-stalled in two of four machines. Withits advanced technology, Goldisthal is setting several international stan-dards, including: the gigantic ma-chines can be synchronized to thegrid from standstill to full power inrecord time in world comparison.

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Another novelty for European pumped-storage plants: two of the four ma-chines operate in “variable-speed”mode and for this reason variations in the electrical grid can be balancedmuch easier than with traditionalpump-turbine units.

Goldisthal pumped-storage plant isexpected to reduce peak load deficitsand to provide a reserve for losses of larger power station blocks in theVattenfall grid. These features make a significant contribution to the safeoperation of the grid. At maximumhead, each pump-turbine can produce325 MW of clean, renewable energy.


Dr. Hermut Kormann, President andChief Executive Officer of Voith AG,presented a component of the variable-speed pump-turbine model runner as well as graphic displays for thevisitor center to Reinhardt Hassa,Member of the Board of VattenfallEurope Generation AG & Co. KG, and chief charge of the CorporateDivision “Power Stations”.

It took six years to build this pumped-storage project – from the groundbreaking for the access tunnel intothe cavern to initial start-up of com-mercial operation of the first of fourpump-turbine units in February 2003and the official opening ceremony.

The construction and operation ofGoldisthal will secure 50 permanentpower station jobs and approximately

Technological leadership

Hydropower plants located at riverscarrying an extremely high amount of abrasive particles during the floodseasons have to deal with the severesituation of hydro-abrasive erosion.This is still a major obstacle to theeconomic utilization of hydropowerresources in those countries. The aimof the aforementioned research pro-ject had been a comprehensive pro-gram to develop up-to-date measuresagainst silt erosion.

Optimized hydraulic shapeDifferent approaches are possible to reduce wear in hydraulic turbines.It is not always possible to carry outcatchment area treatment to avoidabrasive particles being washed intothe river water or to remove particlesbefore entering the hydro turbine. Nev-ertheless, a solution had to be foundto reduce the damage by abrasive par-ticles. During the research project, a process was developed to modifythe hydraulic shape of turbines andsignificantly reduce hydro-abrasive erosion. This is performed by highly developed CFD tools (ComputationalFluid Dynamics), which optimize the hydraulic design by determining“hot spots” of hydro abrasive wear.

After more than six years, the German-financed research program on re-quirement-based coating in Chinese hydropower plants has led to newfindings, both on how to reduce the effect of hydro-abrasive wear by ero-sion prediction and also on erosion protection. In addition to laboratory-based examinations, the real scale performance of the measures to reducewear was tested at the San Men Xia hydropower plant in Henan Province,China. The project, financially supported by the German BMFT (FederalMinistry for Research and Technology), had a considerable volume.

Research to reducehydro-abrasive wear

Particle trajectories in a Kaplanturbine and local flow velocity

Prediction of hydro abrasivewear on a Francis runner

Areas are indicated, where the wearrate reaches extremely high values. At this stage of the engineering pro-cess, design changes can be madeand modifications can be implement-ed easily. The main emphasis is onachieving a more homogenous hydro-abrasive erosion on the hydraulic surface of the component, ratherthan having local “hot spots”. At the end of the process an optimizeddesign is achieved, both in regard to hydraulic behavior and erosionprevention. These measures can only reduce the erosion attack, but not completely prevent it.

Material-based solutionsThe second goal of the project was to develop a material-based solutionto protect the surface of hydrauliccomponents. Material tests were car-ried out to examine available base

materials and coatings in order to obtain a rating of wear-relatedproperties.

Two groups of materials, each rely-ing on completely different protectionmechanisms, were clearly dominatingthe high end of this classification.Based on the experiments and ex-aminations, two materials, one fromeach group, were selected for thepilot applications on the Yellow River.A “hard”, HVOF-applied TC/CoCr coat-ing (High Velocity Oxygen Fuel), namedDiaturb® 532, and a “soft” PU-basedcoating, Softurb® 80, were chosen toprotect the pilot turbine and its com-ponents from hydro-abrasive erosion.

The San Men Xia research project in-cluded a monitoring phase of two years,during which the turbine parts wereinspected several times. The unit was 22

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also in operation during the floodseasons with an average sand con-centration of 20-30 kg/m3. At the endof this phase the protection systemshad fulfilled the requirements. Thecombination of erosion prevention by design optimization and coating-based erosion protection, lead to a significant reduction in wear.

On an overall basis, the result of theresearch project is very satisfying.Wear rates at the newly designed andprotected surfaces are minimal com-pared to the original runner parts. The experience from the research project was included in a process im-provement of the protection systems.


Application of the Diaturb® 532 coating Combination of different coating systems

Voith Siemens Hydro Brazil was one of the main sponsors of the third Brazil-ian Forum of Electric Energy which took place on July 7 and 8 in São Paulo.Under the title “Infra 2020”, more than 500 Brazilian and international exec-utives from the electric energy sector discussed the country’s future genera-tion, transmission, distribution and commercialization of energy issues.

Customer contacts

During the biannual gathering of ERLAC – the regional Latin American meet-ing of CIGRE from May 18-22, Voith Siemens Hydro Sao Paulo was honoredwith three awards for the best case studies presented during the event.

New brochures

Infra 2020: Sponsoring the third Brazilian Forum of Electric Energy

The forum of 25 private and state-owned companies of suppliers,investors, etc. clearly succeeded in

Out of a total number of 28 case studiespresented in the session held on rotat-ing machinery showcasing specialtiesand latest technological developmentfrom the companies involved in gen-eration, transmission and distribution

of electrical energy, Voith SiemensHydro presented fourteen. The win-ners were Jorge J. R. Echeverria with“Methods of identification and analy-sis of problems of electromagneticorigin in the stators of synchronized

t 3033 e t 3301 e t 3304 e

ERLAC X prizes for best paper presentations

The latest Voith Siemens Hydrobrochures are now available:


cant lack of private investment, whichis threatening to bring a new energycrisis, was identified as the centralproblem to be addressed.


machines”, Thomas Hildinger, Joao C. Benedetti and Ciao W. Kramer withtheir paper on “A new concept for iso-lation of excitation winding in hydrogenerators”, and Thomas Hildinger,Marcelo G. Tavares and Joao F. Namo-ras on “Virtual Assembly”.


drawing the Brazilian government’sattention to the current problems inthe country’s energy sector. A signifi-

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Waterpower XIII was held at the end of July in Buffalo, New York, USA witha record 1,400 participants compared to the expected 900 attendance. The closeproximity to the world renowned Niagara Falls presented the opportunity tocelebrate a special anniversary for Voith Siemens Hydro – the 100th anniver-sary of the installation of Voith turbines at Niagara Falls in 1903 with a spe-cial leaflet focusing on the historic installation.

Voith Siemens Hydro York’s involve-ment in the bi-annual event as an exhi-bitor and supporter of the conferencewith company staff for panel discus-sions, session leadership and pre-sentation of technical papers playedan important part in this successfulconference.

Voith Siemens offered a separate ex-hibit room that allowed in-depth pre-

historic Buffalo and Erie HistoricalMuseum. One hundred forty guestswere entertained in the only remain-ing permanent structure from the 1901Pan American Exposition.

Wolfgang Heine, Executive Vice Presi-dent and General Manager took theopportunity to address the guests and say a personal farewell to hiscustomers as he prepared to retireand leave the Board of Voith SiemensHydro York at the end of the year. Mr. Heine also introduced the newDirectors. (see next article)


Voith Siemens Hydro Power Genera-tion Inc. has named E. Mark Garnerits President and Brian Greenplate,Executive Vice President.

Executive Vice President. He becamePresident on October 1, 2003. BrianGreenplate was previously the VicePresident for Sales and Marketing andassumed his new position as ExecutiveVice President on March 1, 2003.

Wolfgang Heine, Executive Vice Presi-dent and General Manager, will retireat the end of 2003. He spent the past14 years at Voith Hydro and VoithSiemens Hydro Power Generation in York.

Waterpower XIII, 2003 Very well attended

Mark Garner joined the company asplant manager in 1988. He served asVice President of turbine operationsuntil 1999, when he was promoted to

E. Mark Garner Brian Greenplate Wolfgang Heine

Voith Siemens Hydro, USA, names new officers

sentations and discussions with visitorson environmental solutions includingfish-friendly and aerating turbines,Integrated Services, WaterView andgenerator technology.

The company sponsored social eventsincluded a conference wide receptionheld at the New York Power Authori-ty’s Robert Moses Power Vista. It alsoheld a special customer event in the

Essay

Some anthropologists are of the opin-ion that music has its origins in thevery heart of the this continent. Eventoday, music and dance are a tradi-tional accompaniment to every im-portant situation in day-to-day life.Music coordinates the work process-es and provides rhythm, dancing tomusic has a mystic power and, forexample when the planting seasoncomes around, is used to call for therain needed for the crops to grow.Many of the songs handed down fromone generation to the next describethe strength and might of water.

In the Western world, at least in regions that do not suffer from ashortage of water, this element hasacquired a lively, jovial character inmusic, reflecting the more positivecharacter attributed to it. In NorthAmerica, many music-lovers are convinced that the blues would nothave come about without the influ-ence of a mighty river. The lowerreaches of the Mississippi are re-garded as the birthplace of America’sentire culture of popular music.

Water – the elixir of life. Life on the continent that has seen human settle-ment longer than any other has always been governed by this fundamentalinsight. In Africa, people are conscious in every aspect of their existence of the extent to which they depend on this element. It is therefore hardlysurprising that water occupies a central position in their culture and in everyarea of what we have come to know as the fine arts.

The sound of the waves

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Many internationally successful art-ists in these musical categories haveput forward this theory. Powerfulperformers such as Ike and TinaTurner, John Lee Hooker or LutherAllison all obtained their inspirationfrom the Mississippi Delta and be-came in their turn the icons and mo-dels of several later generations of musicians.

In Europe’s musical history there havebeen many examples of water beingtransferred from the river or seabedto the musical score, one of the best-known is “Vltava” (“The Moldau”) byBedrich Smetana, who was born inEastern Bohemia in 1824.

This tone poem, lasting twelve minutes,describes how the river flows from the two springs that are its source –represented by warbling flutes and clar-inet runs – until it grows in size andpasses through the woods and fields– a famous melody – and reaches thedangerous rapids of St. John, dramat-ically portrayed by passages by thestringed instruments. Finally, the Mol-dau emerges proudly from these con-flicts of the elements to join othermighty streams on their way to the sea.

Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)has left us a splendid aural exampleof water at its most impressive. Withall the tonal opulence of the baroque

period, he wrote his celebrated “WaterMusic”, dedicated it to the British KingGeorge I and arranged for it to be per-formed on the River Thames in 1717.

Another musical theme from theworld of water bade fair to becomethe rallying song of an entire gener-ation. “Aquarius”, the best-knownsong from the musical “Hair”, an-nounced the “dawning of the age of Aquarius”. This sign of the zo-diac and the influence of the planetUranus were taken by the “flower-power” movement as their inspira-tion to “make love, not war” in thehope that a better world would comeabout and that a protest against allforms of violence could be organized.

Even this brief selection from a topic-area that is almost unlimited in itsscope shows us that water is an exis-tential topic and plays a significantpart in the artistic heritage of all theworld’s cultures.

Voith Siemens HydroPower Generation GmbH & Co. KGAlexanderstraße 1189522 Heidenheim/GermanyTel. +49 7321 37 68 48Fax +49 7321 37 78 28www.voithsiemenshydropower.com

Editorial coordination:Barbara Fischer-Aupperle

Copyright 2003 Reproduction permitted,provided source is given.

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