Equipment overhaul completed at Maentwrog hydro plant in Wales

Image credit: Quartzelec

UK-headquartered engineering firm Quartzelec has completed the overhaul of Unit 1 at the Maentwrog Hydroelectric Power Station in North Wales.

The project upgrade was awarded through a competitive tender process with the aim of ensuring greater reliability of the unit and ultimately reducing future outages.

According to Quartzelec, the service overhaul included the dismantling of the 15kV, 11.6MW, 50Hz, 600rpm GEC Alsthom generator, originally manufactured in 1991, as well as associated turbine components.

As part of the service, the generator’s stator and rotor were inspected, cleaned and tested at Quartzelec’s facility in Rugby. Also, a core stud tension check was conducted and stator windings re-varnished.

James Barnwell, Quartzelec’s project lead based in Rugby commented in a statement: “This project wasn’t just about maintaining the equipment at Maentwrog to ensure continued reliable and safe operation, but also about futureproofing it with advanced monitoring capabilities”.

The monitoring capabilities are provided by the LIFEVIEW Partial Discharge monitoring unit that was implemented to extend the lifecycle and enhance the safety of the equipment, according to Quartzelec.

“Integrating a Partial Discharge (PD) monitoring system to establish baseline test values will provide us with a critical reference point for our ongoing maintenance and operational diagnostics and was a key deliverable for us,” added Andy McAteer, NRS site engineer.

The Maentwrog station is managed by Nuclear Restoration Services Ltd, a subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. It was built by the North Wales Power Company and commissioned in October 1928. It utilises the water resources of the Snowdonia mountains and generates an annual electricity output of 60.6GWh.

The turbine refurbishment was carried out on-site by Quartzelec’s appointed sub-contractor, Green Highland Renewables.

Quartzelec delivered a similar overhaul at the Maentwrog station in 2013. The company provides a range of services for rotating electrical machinery, from complete maintenance and component replacement of legacy machines and systems to modern upgrades and advanced diagnostic tools like Partial Discharge monitoring.

Originally published by Pamela Largue in Power Engineering International.

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