Voith Successfully Completed Tests at Various Hydropower Plants in China

A 72-hour trial operation of the Voith machine was conducted at the Li Yuan hydropower plant at the end of last year: The customer Yuannan Jinsha River Hydropower Co. was very satisfied with the test run for the plant situated on the Jinsha river at the border of Yulong County (Lijiang) and Shangri-La County (Diqing). Right after the examination the machine went into commercial operation. It is the first of four Voith turbine-generator units. Each unit has capacity of 612 megawatts. All of them are expected go into operation by the end of 2015.

Moreover, Voith Hydro initiated a 20-days type test at the Xi Luo Du hydropower plant with most authoritative and professional technical experts. In December 2014, they examined performance, characteristics and efficiency of the Voith machines according to the data stipulated in the contract. The customer China Three Gorges Corporation praised the results and Voith’s professionalism.

Xi Luo Du is the second largest hydropower plant in China running with the third largest machines worldwide. Voith has delivered three power units to Xi Luo Du. Each of the turbine-generator units has a capacity of 784 megawatts. “China Three Gorges Corporation is very satisfied with the results of Xi Luo Du type test”, says Martin Andrä, President of Voith Hydro Shanghai. He pointed out that for Voith the results are “very helpful for optimizing the design of mega units in the future”.

Meanwhile, Voith drives forward the Hong Ping pumped storage project with successful tests for the customer Jiangxi Hong Ping PSP Ltd.: The huge bifurcation pipe for the Hong Ping plant passed the hydrostatic test as well as the ultrasonic inspection in November 2014. The pipe has to withstand the power of water with high resilience, since Hong Ping has a maximum water head of 580 meters. Therefore, the bifurcation pipe needs an appropriate layout: It has a diameter of 4.28 meters, a weight of 44 tons and a thickness of 54 millimeters. Thus, it is highly complicated for engineers to design and manufacture this kind of pipe due to its huge size and the material’s hardness.

Voith Hydro Shanghai has established itself as one of the most important full-line provider for hydropower equipment in China and Asia. Recently, the company celebrated its 20th anniversary in China.