PARIS - Latvia's power company Latvenergo has awarded Alstom a contract worth over €100 million ($107 million) to refurbish 6 x 69 MW Kaplan units for the Riga hydropower plant, located on the 1,020 km long Daugauva river in Latvia.
The scope of the contract includes the refurbishment of the turbines, the generators, a new control system and auxiliary equipment. Alstom intends to use local companies in the execution of the contract.
One unit per year will be refurbished for the next eight years and the renovation will be completed in 2022. As a result of the reconstruction, the annual production at the Riga hydropower plant will grow by at least 20 GWh.
The Riga hydropower plant is one of the three main hydropower plants of the country which produce more than 50 percent of the electricity in Latvia. The Riga hydropower plant produced 679 GWh of environmentally-friendly energy in 2013; its rehabilitation will extend its lifetime for at least 40 years and increase its efficiency. The refurbishment of Riga hydropower plant is part of Latvenergo's €200 million investment program in the Daugava river hydropower plants.