OREANDA-NEWS. September 17, 2010. JSC RusHydro and OJSC Power Machines signed a contract for manufacturing and supplying equipment to renovate nine hydro-power units at the Zhigulevskaya HPP.

In accordance with contract terms, Power Machines will design, manufacture and supply the hydro-power plant with nine hydro-power units, each with a power rating of 129 MW, as well as equipment for partially replacing major units of the functional hydro-power turbine generators at the Zhigulevskaya HPP.

Within the framework of the contract, specialists from Power Machines will also render services for installation supervision and will participate in start-up work for commissioning supplied equipment.

Installation of new hydro-power units with a power rating of 129 MW per unit will allow for the increase, proceeding from the performance coefficient of the hydro-power generator, of the power rating of each hydro-power generator with a rated head by 10.5 MW (from 115 MW to 125.5 МW). Following equipment renovation at the Zhigulevskaya HPP, which will be carried out jointly by JSC RusHydro and Power Machines, the aggregate capacity of the hydro-power plant will increase 94.5 MW.

The launch of the first renovated hydro-power unit at the Zhigulevskaya HPP is planned for 2013; the final unit launch is scheduled for the end of 2016. The value of the contract is 11.5 billion rubles (including VAT).

The contract was concluded to implement a medium-term program for the technical upgrade and renovation of the Zhigulevskaya HPP, a RusHydro branch, from 2011-2015. The contract allows for the acceleration of power plant reconstruction.

The contract concluded between Power Machines and JSC RusHydro is in line with successful corporate cooperation aimed at developing the Russian domestic hydro-power industry. At present, the following joint projects involving cooperation between hydro-power industry specialists and mechanical engineers are being carried out:  the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP restoration, the Boguchanskaya HPP and the Zagorskaya PSHPP-2 construction, turnkey reconstruction of four hydro-power units at the Volzhskaya HPP, as well as renovation of two hydro-power units at the Saratovskaya HPP.

JSC RusHydro is Russia’s largest power generating company, with 60 renewable energy facilities. The Company’s total installed capacity is 25.4 GWt, including 6,400 MWt at the P.S. Neporozhniy Sayano-Shushenskya HPP, which is currently being restored. RusHydro is a leader in energy production using renewable energy sources, including: water flows, sea tides, wind and geo-thermal energy.

The Zhigulevskaya HPP is a branch of JSC RusHydro. The HPP is the sixth largest HPP in the Volzhsko-Kamskiy Cascade based on level and the second largest based on capacity. It is the second largest hydro-power plant in Europe. Its installed capacity totals 2,320 MW. The HPP has twenty hydro-power units: sixteen units with a capacity of 115 MW and four units with a capacity of 120 MW. The average annual output of the HPP is 10,100.0 million kW.h. The Zhigulevskaya HPP participates in covering peak loads and regulating electrical frequency in the European part of Russia. The HPP also regulates water outflow in the Volga and promotes effective water use by downstream Volga HPPs. The HPP also ensures the creation of navigable water depths and helps create favorable conditions for irrigating large areas of arid land in the Zavolzhye.