Electrical & Mechanical Power Plant Components

Voith Hydro is part of the Voith Group and a leading full-line supplier as well as trusted partner for equipping hydropower plants. Voith develops customized, long-term solutions and services for large and small hydro plants all over the world. Its portfolio of products and services covers the entire life cycle and all major components for large and small hydro plants, from generators, turbines, pumps and automation systems as well as balance of plant systems and hydro steel works, right through to spare parts, maintenance and training services, and digital solutions for intelligent hydropower.

In 2019 Voith has been awarded the contract to equip the new large scale pumped storage power station Snowy 2.0 with electrical and mechanical power plant components.

The scope of work includes the supply of six reversible pump turbines, three of which are variable-speed and three a fixed speed units with a rated capacity of 340MW. In addition, the order includes six motor generators, the auxiliary systems and the complete power plant automation. With the six units, Snowy 2.0 will achieve a total output of 2,000 megawatts and provide the national electricity market with 175 hours of continuous large-scale storage.

At the heart of the innovative pumped storage technology is a special asynchronous motor-generator, the doubly fed induction machine. Compared to a conventional synchronous machine, it decouples the mechanical speed from the constant frequency and can vary. As a result, the system reacts faster and more flexibly to active and reactive demands from the power grid. It also offers additional stability in the event of a voltage drop.

The power unit is continuously monitored with several digital sensors, including the Voith’s so-called OnCare.Health system guaranteeing a high availability of all units.

Today the technical design of the power unit and of major components is in full swing and partly even completed and approved by FGJV and SHL.

The manufacturing works for several units started already in Voith Hydro’s Shanghai workshop. Spiral case and stay ring assembly works had been started for all six units. The casted and pre-machined blades for the first four runners arrived in workshop ready to start welding to crown and band of the runner. The casted main inlet valve bodies and rotors of three units are in machining process.

“Voith is extremely proud to be part of this exciting and important hydropower project and to contribute to the further expansion of renewable energy in Australia,” says Uwe Wehnhardt, CEO of Voith Hydro.