Voith to Supply Complete Hydropower Equipment for the Expansion of a Pumped Storage Plant in Thailand

The order for the extension of the Lam Ta Khong hydropower plant includes the supply of two motor-generators, two 255 MW vertical pump turbines, the automation systems as well as the electrical and mechanical balance-of-plant systems. The contract has been awarded by the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and has a total value of around €50 million. Lam Ta Khong is the first pumped storage plant equipped by Voith in Southeast Asia and another milestone for the company on this promising hydropower market.

The equipment for Lam Ta Khong will be produced at Voith Hydro’s state-of-the-art manufacturing and engineering facility in Shanghai, China. “As a fully localized company in China, Voith Hydro Shanghai is powering most of the large hydropower projects in China with industry-leading equipment, technology and service,” said Martin Andrä, President of Voith Hydro Shanghai. “Our proven track record in China is now also helping drive our expansion into the Southeast Asia, home to some of the world’s largest untapped hydroelectric resources.“

The extension project will double the capacity of the pumped storage plant: Once completed Lam Ta Khong will have a total capacity of 1000 MW. The project is located on the Lam Ta Khong River, a tributary of the Mun River, 200 km northeast of the capital city of Bangkok. The first phase of the Lam Ta Khong pumped storage station with a total capacity of 500 MW was initiated in 1995 and completed in 2001.

Thailand is aiming at expanding renewable energies and thereby to reduce its dependency on energy imports. Today, over 60 percent of primary commercial energy demand derives from importation. Oil import took a high proportion at 80 percent of the total domestic oil consumption with an increasing trend since the country is not capable to increase the domestic petroleum production to meet the growing demand. The government therefore assigned the Energy Ministry to establish a Renewable and Alternative Energy Development Plan to increase the renewable energy production to 25 percent in 10 years. As a particularly clean, renewable, reliable and locally available form of energy, hydropower is well suited to contribute to these goals and to support the further development and a more independent energy system of Thailand.

As the capacity of volatile renewable energy like wind and solar increases, the need for balancing plants such as pumped storage becomes stronger. Pumped storage is a proven and reliable technology that helps stabilize the grid by balancing the flow of power across transmission networks, as well as the largest-capacity form of grid energy storage available.

Voith Hydro has more than 100 years of experience in the development, design, and manufacturing of pumped storage equipment and up to date has delivered more than 200 pumped storage power units to power plants across the world.