Wood Group GTS has won a US$11.2 million contract to re-rate a hydro turbine generator at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s (LADWP) Castaic pumped-storage hydroelectric plant.
The Houston-based Wood Group said it will replace discharge and wear rings, modify stay vanes, refurbish shutoff valves and replace the generator stator on a Hitachi turbine, increasing the unit’s output capacity to 21 and Castaic’s total capacity to approximately 1,260 MW.
Wood Group has made similar modifications to three other turbines over the past four years as part of LADWP’s Castaic Power Plant Modernization Program.
“Over the last several years we have established a strong working relationship with LADWP,” said Rob Duby, President of Wood Group Field Services. “Our team works alongside Castaic power plant’s maintenance personnel to ensure safe, effective and efficient utilization of resources.”
The project will increase unit efficiencies by about 2.7% in pumping mode and 1.2% in generating mode, the company said, with work to be completed by the end of August.
The Castaic hydropower plant includes six pumped-storage units and one 55 MW conventional unit. HydroWorld.com reported in May 2012 that LADWP had awarded Alstom a contract to rehabilitate the conventional unit as part of the rehabilitation project.
