German engineering firm Voith has won a contract to refurbish a hydropower plant owned by Rheinkraftwerk Albbruck-Dogern.
Under the two-phase contract worth up to €25m, Voith will modernise the Rheinkraftwerk Albbruck-Dogern plant, located on the Rhine river over the German-Swiss border.
The first phase will see the upgrade of one turbine set with an order volume of €10m, while the remaining two machines will be overhauled in the second phase.
The 80-year old hydropower plant, which recently obtained license extension until 2072, will witness long periods of failure-free operation for several decades with the help of proposed refurbishment, Voith said.
Voith has recently completed the modernisation and overhaul of two hydro power plants – Rheinfelden, Erneg and Bad Säckingen, both located on the southern Rhine.
In March 2013, Voith received a €10m order from Statkraft to upgrade six turbines in four different Norwegian hydropower stations.
Refurbishment of existing plants is gaining importance in established hydropower markets such as Europe and North America, said the company.
Germany’s installed hydropower capacity currently stands at around 4,100MW, with an estimated untapped potential of nearly 6,000MW.
Image: Three turbines will be upgraded at the Rheinkraftwerk Albbruck-Dogern plant. Photo: Courtesy of Voith.
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