ALSTOM DELIVERING FRANCIS TURBINE WHEEL, REFURBISHED AFTER HALF A CENTURY OF OPERATION
PARIS - Alstom is about to deliver a refurbished Francis turbine wheel to the Genissiat hydroelectric power station, located on the border between Ain and Haute-Savoie departments, in France. Weighing in at 28.5 tons and 4.17 meters in diameter, the wheel was initially commissioned in 1952 and has operated for over 250,000 hours prior to heading for the Alstom workshops in Grenoble to be refurbished. It has taken seven months to conduct expert analyses, perform hardfacing and check and rebalance the wheel, which will be operational once again as of October 2014.
Operated by Compagnie Nationale du Rhone (CNR), the Genissiat power station generates 420 MW (six 70-MW units) and produces 1.7 billion KWh per annum, representing 10 percent of CNR's production. Two out of the six wheels in the Genissiat power station were manufactured in the Alstom workshops in Grenoble and delivered in 1948. On another note, this was the first hydroelectric power station commissioned by CNR among the 19 hydroelectric facilities built on the river.
Thanks to its know-how and its familiarity with hydroelectric power stations along the Rhone River, Alstom was chosen by CNR to perform this critical refurbishment operation. Indeed, Alstom enjoys substantial experience in the assessment, maintenance, retrofit and modernization of operating hydroelectric power stations, thanks to an array of working facilities accounting for more than a quarter of all hydroelectric power stations worldwide. This specialized know-how involves all services relating to the facilities (inspection, maintenance, repairs, spare parts and diagnoses), limited refurbishment work and major retrofit projects, as well as the supply of all kinds of material like turbines, generators and control/command systems.
Source: http://www.alstom.com/press-centre/2014/7/alstom-delivering-francis-turbine-wheel-having-refurbished-it-after-half-a-century-of-operation/
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