HRW Briefings

Modernizing Russia's Saratovskaya, Bratsk plants

Hydro utility RusHydro has signed a contract with Voith Hydro St. Polten for modernization of the 1,360 MW Saratovskaya project in the 10 GW Volga-Kama hydropower cascade.

With an order value of €140 million (US$190.8 million) to upgrade the first five Kaplan turbines, the work will increase the capacity of each unit to 68 MW, from 60 MW.

Voith Hydro said it would modernize the units in different stages in close cooperation with a Russian partner. Russian equipment manufacturer Power Machines said in September it approved a deal with Voith Hydro but did not disclose details.

Voith Hydro has also secured a contract to supply six replacement turbine rotors at the 4,500 MW Bratsk project in the Angara-Yenisei cascade in Siberia.

Voith Hydro signed the agreement with utility OAO Irkutskenergo in mid-September. It is expected to deliver the first rotor by September 2013 and the sixth by March 2016.

Irkutskenergo completed installation of six previous replacement rotors, supplied by Power Machines, at the end of 2010. Replacement of the rotors increases turbine efficiency to 95.3%, the utility said.

General Manager Yevgeny Fyodorov of Irkutskenergo and OAO EuroSibEnergo said replacing the additional six rotors will raise the economic efficiency of the units and improve reliability and security of the Bratsk project. EuroSibEnergo is a private Russian energy company that controls 18 power plants totaling 19,500 MW.

Emerson Process Management also signed an agreement with RusHydro in August for process automation projects to improve the reliability and availability of Saratovskaya and the 2,541 MW Volzhskaya and 1,020 MW Votkinskaya plants.

Brazilian projects get environment agency approval

Brazil's environmental regulator has issued a license to allow operation of the 3,150 MW Santo Antonio project, being built on the Madeira River.

Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renovaveis (Ibama) said that, after technical studies, it decided the project reservoir should be filled in three stages to ensure water quality at levels suitable for multiple use and for maintenance of fish.

Brazilian state-run power company Eletrobras Furnas holds 39% of Consorcio Madeira Energia that controls project owner Santo Antonio Energia. Consorcio Madeira Energia also includes Odebrecht Investimentos em Infra-estrutura Ltda., 17.6%; Construtora Norberto Odebrecht S.A., 1%; Andrade Gutierrez Participacoes S/A, 12.4%; Cemig Geracao e Transmissao S/A, 10%; and Fundo de Investimentos e Participacoes Amazonia Energia (formed by banks Banif and Santander), 20%.

Ibama said reservoir filling was to begin immediately and terminate upon reaching a level of 70.5 meters at the end of November. After filling the 546 km² reservoir, Santo Antonio Energia is authorized to produce power.

To offset environmental effects of the project, Santo Antonio Energia is to invest about BRL56 million (US$30.4 million), representing 0.5% of the project value, as required by law.

Santo Antonio is one of two big projects, with 3,750 MW Jirau, comprising the Madeira River complex. GDF Suez recently reported that Jirau, currently under construction, is to be expanded from the original concession of 44 units to 50 units, each with a capacity of 75 MW. The announcement will increase total capacity of the project from the initial 3,300 MW to 3,750 MW.

In related news, Ibama has issued an installation license for the 1,800 MW Teles Pires project in the center-western state of Mato Grosso. The project is due to come online in 2015.

The license authorizes construction at the plant site. An operating license will be required and issued once construction is finished, Business News Americas reports.

The Companhia Hidreletrica Teles Pires consortium carrying out the project consists of local utility Neoenergia (50.1%), state-run firms Eletrobras Furnas (24.5%), Eletrobras Eletrosul (24.5%) and local engineering company Odebrecht (0.9%).

Porce 3 begins operations

Colombian utility Empresas Publicas de Medellin (EPM) has begun full commercial operation of the 660 MW Porce 3 project on Colombia's Porce River.

EPM began operating the first turbine-generator unit in December 2010, bringing the other three units on line over the past six months, with the fourth unit beginning operation in September in Antioquia Province. The project features a 148 foot-tall concrete-faced rockfill dam, an underground powerhouse and a reservoir covering 575 hectares.

The US$1.33 billion project was built by a consortium of Brazil's Construcciones Carmargo Correa and Colombia's Conconcreto and Coninsa-Ramon H. EPM awarded contracts in 2007 totaling $16 million to Argentina's Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona S.A. (IMPSA) and Italy's ATB-Riva Calzoni to supply gates for the diversion tunnel and outlets. IMPSA previously received a $36.9 million contract to supply four Francis turbines, while Japan's Mitsui & Co. Ltd. received a $44.8 million contract to supply synchronous generators.

The 660 MW Porce 3 project in Colombia has begun full commercial operation, with all four turbine-generator units on-line as of September.

EPM President Restrepo Posada said Porce 3 emphasized high compliance with provisions of its environmental license governing development and employment generated in the region, as well as management of project impacts. EPM relocated 170 families in the catchment area or nearby locations and agreed to improve schools, health facilities, roads, housing and community facilities.

The next project, the 2,400 MW Ituango development on Colombia's Cauca River, is under construction with completion expected in late 2018.

A consortium of Ferrovial Agroman Chile S.A. and Sainc Ingenieros Constructores S.A. of Colombia has begun importation of equipment, processing of legal documents, and recruitment of staff to build construction camps and perform other work. Ferrovial Agroman and Sainc received a €55 million (US$77.3 million) contract in July to build a powerhouse access tunnel and two river diversion tunnels.