BC Hydro awards its largest turbine replacement to Voith

MONTREAL, Aug. 17 /CNW Telbec/ - British Columbia (BC) Hydro awarded a contract to Voith Hydro in Montreal for the complete overhaul of five Francis turbine units for Gordon M. Shrum hydro power plant, located near Hudson's Hope, B.C. The decision was taken after a competitive model test at the facilities of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne, Switzerland. The project is the largest turbine replacement project BC Hydro has awarded so far.

Voith Hydro's scope of supply includes five new 310 megawatt turbines, site construction, installation, and start-up. The first unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2012. Each year, one unit will be replaced until all five units are in service in early 2017.

The overhaul by Voith Hydro will improve the availability and reliability of these units, while the rated output of each turbine will be increased from 266 to 310 megawatts. Consequently, an additional annual electricity generation of 177 gigawatt hours is granted - enough electricity for an additional 15,000 homes.

The turbine units of Gordon M. Shrum hydro power plant were put into operation in the late 1960s. They represent 12 per cent of BC Hydro's power production capacity and thus have considerable impact on the electricity supply for the Province of British Columbia.

Voith Hydro is a Group Division of Voith and - with a workforce of currently almost 4,700 employees and an order intake of almost 1,3 billion Euros in the business year 2008/2009 - belongs to the world-wide leading companies for hydro power equipment.

Voith is a global leader in the paper, energy, mobility and service industries. Founded on 1st January 1867, Voith employs 39,000 people, and has sales of EURO 5,1 billion. Operating from 280 locations worldwide, Voith is one of Europe's largest family-owned companies.

For further information:

Pierre Séguin, Director
Tel. [phone]  
[email protected]