hypowerby Voith Hydro — N° 32

Expansion
Customized components
from Voith Hydro
expand Vamma power
station, ­Norway’s
largest run-of-river­hydropower plant

10

14

Installation
Snowy 2.0
power plant stabilizes­Australia’s
energy production

20

Automation
Digital solutions
from Voith
increase efficiency
and safety

Intelligent
HydropowerEditorial
hypower N° 32

14Snowy 2.0 connects two
existing ­reservoirs to form one massive­pumped-storage power plant.

Climate change is a catalyst for the­demand for renewable energy and issimultaneously accelerating the­evolution from automated to intelligent
hydropower. This is because it demands greater flexibility from plant­o perators in order to compensate forfluctuations in the volatile energy
sources of wind and solar power –something that can only be accomplished with digital solutions. We want
to shape the necessary transforma-­tion process together with our customers by combining our over 150 yearsof ­hydropower expertise with the­intel­li­gent applications we have developed from it. This issue of hypower­focuses on digitization’s potential andreveals how it can be tapped to increase ­pro­ductivity while simulta­
neously cutting costs – and presents
products and services that are alreadyavailable today and already creating
real value for their users. Enjoy reading
this issue – and I hope you findthe ­articles exciting and informative!

Uwe Wehnhardt
President & CEO, Voith Hydro

Contents
Zoom
04	Digital Insights
A new kind of turbine
governor optimizes efficiency
and sustainability.

News
06

B
 rief reports
from the world of Voith Hydro.

07

innovate

A Look at Key Trends

08	Global Currents
The StreamDiver propeller
turbine makes even small rivers
and stretches of water
suitable for power generation.
10	Smooth Transition
Vamma, Norway’s largest
run-of-river power plant, has
not only increased its
capacity but also its flexibility
with a twelfth turbine featuring
custo­mized components
from Voith Hydro.
14	Trendsetter for
the Energy ­Revolution
The massive Snowy 2.0 power
plant is designed to expand­Australia’s sustainable power­generation and create agigantic storage facility for volatile
forms of energy. Variable-speed
turbines from Voith play a
key role.

08

The popularity of the low-maintenanceand environmentally friendly ­StreamDivercompact turbine is growing worldwide.

02 Editorial

hypower N° 32

36

Legal Information
Publisher:
Voith GmbH & Co. KGaA
St. Pöltener Str. 43
89522 Heidenheim, Germany
hypower@voith.com

Female engineers support eachother in the “Women in ­Hydropower”­initiative.

20

Digital maintenance strategy:Intelligent solutions optimize costs
and availability.

Responsible for Content:
Kristine Adams,
Voith GmbH & Co. KGaA
Editor-in-chief:
Gudrun Köpf,
Voith GmbH & Co. KGaA
Editorial work:
Faktor 3 AG,
Hamburg/Berlin, Germany
Design:stapelberg&fritz gmbh,
Stuttgart, Germany
Printing:
EBERL PRINT GmbH,
Immenstadt, Germany

40

Extraordinary architecture
differentiates hydropower from ­conventional industrial structures.

19

transform

New Systems and Services

20	Intelligent Hydropower­Solutions
The digital solutions from the­Voith OnCare portfolio help
to individually optimize maintenance and plant operation.
28	New Perspectives
Nepal possesses significant­hydropower potential, but withvery few qualified technicians.
The German Technical
School wants to change that –with Voith’s support.

32

Simon Walch,Head of Commissioning atVoith ­Hydro in Heidenheim, Germany,
describes all of the different
facets of the job of commissioning
engineer.

hypower N° 32

31reflect

Insights and Inside Views

32	Adventures in Commissioning
Implementing complex hydro­
power projects is fascinating andchallenging. We reveal
what really matters in the field.

Copyright:
No part of this publication may be reproduced,
distributed, or transmitted in any form or by anymeans without the prior written permission of the
publisher and none of the content contained herein may be used in whole or in part in other works
in any form.
Photo credits:
Jacek Podkowinski, YouWorkForThem: Cover;Manfred Jarisch: p. 4 – 5, 33 – 34; s&f (Illustration):p. 7, 15, 18, 31; E-CO Energi: p. 10 –13; Snowy­Hydro Ltd.: p. 14 –15, 18; Getty Images: p. 16 –17;
Adobe Image: p. 28 – 30; Bernd ­Schifferdecker­(Illustration): p. 32 – 35; Nana Rausch (Illustration):p. 36 – 39; Brigida González: p. 41
All other photos are from Voith.

Your feedback:If you have any questions or comments about thisissue of hypower, please contact us by email at
hypower@voith.com or via:
www.twitter.com/voith_hydrowww.linkedin.com/company/voith-hydro36	“Hy” Potentials
A mentorship program helps­qualified women enterand advance in the field ofhydropower.
40	Out of the Box
Architecture can positively­influence the public’s perceptionof hydropower. These examples
of completely different­approaches from all over
Europe illustrate how.

carbon neutral
natureOffice.com | DE-141-1VFADZV

print production

Contents 03

04 Zoom

hypower N° 32

Intelligently Connected

The new turbine governor is capableof simulating the entire
hydraulic system and supplies datafor optimization measures.

DigitalInsights
Compact turbine governor optimizes efficiency and sustainability
A new turbine governor from Voith with a particularly compact design that reduces space,energy and maintenance requirements promises to increase efficiency and sustainability andunlock further optimization potential through digitalization. In doing so, the next-generation
governor needs over 60% less oil than high-pressure hydraulic power units; compared to low-­pressure governors, the amount of oil required drops by as much as 90%. “This solution
combines state-of-the-art power electronics with reliable oil hydraulics,” sums up its developer,
engineer Thomas Zeller. Furthermore, it can be used to simulate the entire hydraulic system
including timing, pressure and power. The collected data contains all of the information required
to optimize ongoing operations. The space-saving turbine governor is scheduled to be re­‑leased in 2020.

hypower N° 32

Zoom 05

Power Plant Expansion
Supports Thailand’s Energy
Revolution
As part of a complex expansion project, Voith has doubled the capacity of the Lam Ta Khong (LTK) pumped-­storage power plant in Thailand, located on the river ofthe same name some 200 kilometers northeast of thecapital Bangkok. To achieve this, two additional generator sets with a capacity of 260 MW each were installedin the underground power station, increasing the totalout­put of all four units to 1,040 MW. In addition to thepump turbines and generators, the contract also included
the supply of automation solutions and the entire elec­
tromechanical BOP. Commissioning was completed in
November 2019.
The expansion of Lam Ta Khong further strengthens
Voith’s presence in the Asian hydropower market. The
project is linked to a government plan to promote and ex­pand the use of renewable energy in Thailand. The
country wants to increase its share of total power generation to 37% by 2036.

1,040
520

Figures in megawatts

Lam Ta Khong: The expansion project doubled
the plant’s total capacity.

37
12

Figures in percent

Thailand wants to increase the percentage
of power generated from renewable sources from
12% to 37% by 2036.
06 News

Newsfrom the World of Voith Hydro
Kössler Now Operating
Under the Voith Name
The Austrian company Kössler AG has been operating
under the name Voith since January 2020. This meansthat the company, which specializes in small-scale hy­dro­­
power and has been a wholly owned subsidiary ofVoith since 2008, now conducts business activities under
the name of its parent company. As part of the Small­Hydro division, it rounds out the division’s portfolio in therange up to 15 MW.

1928

Company founded
as a repair
workshop for turbinesand generators

2008
Company acquiredby Voith aswholly owned
subsidiary

Expansion of the
St. Georgen site witha hydropower
technology center andnew production facility

2015
Continuationof Kössler
activities under theVoith name2020
hypower N° 32

p. 07

18

innovate
A Look at Key Trends

Digital Governor Upgrade for Ardnacrusha
When the Shannon, Ireland’s mightiest river, flows from the mountains in the northwest to the coast in the southwest,
its elevation only changes by 76 meters. But its importance far exceeds this insignificant drop.
The 360 kilometer river is not only an important waterway, but also a major supplier of energy for the Emerald Isle.
Since 1929, it has been powering the largest run-of-river power station in the country at Ardnacrusha.
Here the Shannon feeds three Francis turbines and one Kaplan turbine. With a combined capacity of 86 megawatts,
they generate around 332 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. To ensure that the plant continues
generating power long into the future, however, a digital upgrade of the regulator technology is now underway, as theregulators from a French manufacturer installed between 1996 and 1998 are approaching the end of theirtechnical lifetime and spare parts are no longer available. As a result, the state-owned operator Electricity Supply Board(ESB) hired Voith to modernize the plant in July 2019. The primary goal is to increase availability andprevent unplanned downtimes. “We are going to replace all of the turbines’ digital governors and also modify theexisting oil hydraulics,” explains Wolfgang Hörger, Head of Automation Engineering, Voith Hydro.
The second element of the contract is ensuring that spare parts are always available. The first turbine is scheduled
to be commissioned in June 2020. As a result, Ardnacrusha will not only be equipped with the latest governor
technology, but will have a bright future for decades to come.

hypower N° 32

innovate 07

Generating electricity via hydropower isn’t a question of scale. Aside from large reservoirs, evensmall rivers and stretches of water with low head
have the potential to produce electricity – it’s
just difficult to tap. Take the United States, for example: “Of the 80,000 dams in the country,
the number that generates hydropower still stands
at just three percent,” explains Philipp Daus,
Global Product Manager Mini Hydro, Voith Hydro.
Exploiting these opportunities with a cost-ef­
fective solution that is both variable and sustainable
was the driving force behind the developmentof the Voith StreamDiver in 2011.
The compact propeller turbine can be integrated into existing infrastructure like dams, scaled
to a combination of several units as required, andcan even be used in environmentally sensitive
settings thanks to its eco-friendly design –featuring an oil-free turbine generator set lubricatedentirely by water. The design, which was deliberately kept simple, minimizes the probability of failureand doesn’t require any sealing systems. This
makes maintenance intervals of ten years and more
possible, which reduces operating costs.

2
3
5 1

10

6

4

Despite being a very young product,
the StreamDiver has
become extremely popular in markets
around the world.

7

9

Philipp Daus,
Global Product Manager, Voith Hydro

Equipped in this way since its introduction in 2013,
the StreamDiver has been able to exploit sites
for power generation on a number of continentsthat otherwise could never have been used
cost-effectively. Today, installations from Austria
to Indonesia to Sweden to Brazil are proof ofthe efficiency of this approach. For Daus, there’s
no question that the turbine generator unit willcontinue to gain in popularity worldwide. “We’reseeing a trend towards power generation fromlow-head waters. Even in mature markets, there’s
still significant untapped potential here,” emphasizes the manager from Voith.
Development of the
StreamDiver began
in 2011. The prototype
was installed in
Nussdorf, Austria, in
2012, and with arunner diameter of 1.3
meters, achieved
a maximum output
of 450 kW.
08 innovate

Austria
ViennaReference
Commissioning
Runner diameter
Number of turbines
Head
Rated powerC

Widely Used
Launched in Europe in 2013,
the StreamDiver has since
become popular around theglobe. Comparatively low
costs, extreme variability, andthe fact that it can be easily
integrated into existing
infrastructure are all reasons
behind its widespread use.

1

SwedenBruksfors

Nussdorf, pilot system Bruksfors
2012
2015
1,310 mm
1,155 mm113.58 m4.7 m
314 kW
250 kW2

Germany
Heidenheim
Alte Bleiche
2016
790 mm1
1.85 m
37 kW

3

Peru
Huampani4

Huampani
2018
1,310 mm
2
4.5 m
700 kWhypower N° 32

Small-scale hydropower in widespread use – the flexible, low-maintenance, andenvironmentally friendly StreamDiver compact turbine will be generating
power around the world starting in 2020. And its potential is far from exhausted.

G
GlobalCurrents
C
8

How the StreamDiver Works
The flow of water isdirected around the generator
housing and swirledby the guide vanes before
hitting the propeller andgenerating carbon-neutral power.
The StreamDiver operates
completely without oil
and grease-based lubricants.

Austria
GrünauLippenannerl
2019
895 mm1
4.2 m
143 kWhypower N° 32

5Macedonia
Gradište
Gradište
2019
1,310 mm23.73 m605 kW

6

BrazilRio Chopim,
Paraná
Nogueira
2020 (planned)
1,310 mm
7
7.5 m
5,000 kW

7

Indonesia
Serayu,Java
Serayu2020 (planned)
1,310 mm
6
7.57 m
4,500 kW

8

BrazilBela Vista
Bela Vista2020 (planned)
1,015 mm18.34 m488 kW

9

USA
South Bend,
Indiana10South Bend
2020/21 (planned)
1,310 mm103.17 m
2,500 kW
innovate 09

Vamma, Norway’s highest-capacity run-of-river hydropower plant,
has recently grown. Within the scope of the largest new power plant project in­Europe in the past 30 years, operator E-CO Energi added a twelfth turbine.
It not only increases the plant’s capacity and offers greater flexibility,
but above all, makes it future-proof. Voith developed and installed a solution
with customized hydro components.

SmoothTransition

10 innovate

hypower N° 32

1Complex Installation
With a runner diameter of 7.7 meters,
the Kaplan turbine is the second largest
in Norway.
2
Exceptional Architecture
When designing the power plant building,chief architect Nanna Meidell(Norconsult) worked closely withthe engineers.

12

Norway has big plans. The country already covers
96% of its electricity needs with hydropower – ­but wants to go even further. “Hydropower contri­
butes to Norway’s unique position in Europe with
its low greenhouse gas emissions in the energy
sector,” explains Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
But to secure a sustainable energy supply for the­future, many power plants will need to be up­
graded, refurbished, and improved, the head of
the Norwegian government makes clear. And she’s
absolutely right – almost half of the country’s
power generation capacity was installed before
1970 and is approaching the end of its technicallifetime.
One of these old installations is Vamma in
Skiptvet (Østfold province) on the river Gomma.
The country’s largest run-of-river power plant
has been in operation since 1915. At the time,
two horizontal Francis turbines with twin runners
generated electricity – eight more were added
through 1944. Generator number 11 (with a Kaplan
turbine) was brought into service in 1971.
Now, almost half a century later, Vamma istaking a major step towards the future – with
Voith’s help. The company developed, built, andinstalled the twelfth generator on behalf of theplant’s operator, the Norwegian power company
E-CO Energi. In addition to the Kaplan turbine(129 MW) with a five-blade runner, the generator(150 MVA), and the governor, Voith also supplied
the automation technology and the oil pressure
system.

Through Vamma 12,
we’ve laid thefoundation for efficient and­socially responsible
resource management overthe next 100 years.
Finn Bjørn Ruyter
CEO of Hafslund E-CO

Vamma 12 was built as a completely new,i­ndependent generating unit. The dam didn’t need
to be extended; however, only a separate inlet
was built to connect the turbine with the reservoir
used by the existing generating units.
Construction and civil engineering works­began in September 2015, and the first embedded
components were installed in October 2016.
The main construction work began in the summerof 2018 with the installation of the turbine andgenerator inside the power plant building.
hypower N° 32

innovate 11

1
High Priority
Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg opened Vamma 12
in the fall of 2019. At the ceremony, she stressed
the special importance of hydropower for the country.

2
Special Status
The new Vamma 12 building is located somewhat awayfrom the rest of the power plant, but shares acommon ­reservoir with the other generating units.

The control system, which processes morethan 600 signals in total, was installed almost­simultaneously. After extensively testing the gen­erator during the commissioning phase, thefinal tests were carried out in early December
2019.
Problems with the hydraulic oil pressure sys­tem, which made it necessary to replace pumps
and dismantle and clean the turbine parts,
caused delays, however. “That set us back a few
weeks,” recalls Jon Petter Hauge, Project Engi­
neer at E-CO Energi. “At such a late stage, it’s
­extremely difficult to speed up the project to makeup for lost time. Voith was uncompromisingwhen it came to quality assurance and dismantled
and inspected the entire oil system, including
the runner and guide vane servomotors, during
night shifts.”
12 innovate

hypower N° 32

2015–
2019

1
2

Working together closely, Voith and E-CO
­Energi were able to locate the cause and solve theproblem. And now the system runs smoothly.
“From the point of view of E-CO, we can safely
say that we would select Voith again,” Hauge
sums up.
The special role that the latest unit plays at
E-CO Energi is already clear from the outside.
Due to the building’s unconventional architecture,
Vamma 12 stands out visibly from the older partof the power plant – but above all, it increases
its capacity and flexibility. In terms of power out­
put, the Kaplan turbine is the most powerful­turbine ever installed in Norway and, with a runnerdia­meter of 7.7 meters, the second largest. The
runner ring made of martensitic steel was cast
­instead of welded – a first for a turbine of this size.
“This makes it possible to produce thicker wallswith cast-on reinforcement ribs, which results
in a very strong design and therefore allows theturbine to run more smoothly,” explains ProjectManager Robert Gruber, Voith Hydro. To achievea high level of hydraulic efficiency, 32 guide vanes
were installed instead of the usual 24 vanes.
They ensure a more even flow of water to the tur­bine runner.
To avoid the usual coupling and run-out prob­lems, a continuous turbine shaft with the record-­breaking length of 11.6 meters was used insteadof separate turbine and intermediate shafts.
“This decision proved to be absolutely right during
installation,” confirms Gruber. “This allowed us togreatly reduce the time required to install the shaft
and we measured perfect concentricity values
hypower N° 32

Project Duration
Development of
Vamma 12 began in
2015. The power
plant was­commissioned in
May 2019 and­officially opened in­September.
The final tests were­completed in­December 2019.

1

One
Kaplan turbinewith special features:
It is designedwith five blades andits runner has
an ­extremely small
hub to achieve­greater hydraulic­efficiency.

28.5
A headof 28.5 meters isused for power­generation. The­hydropower station
is located exactly
where the edgeof the Vammafossen
waterfall used
to be.

1,580
Vamma will now
produce a total of
1,580 gigawatt
hours per year,
an increase of over17%.

at the bearing points during the inspection.” The
design effort and the optimized compatibilityof the components specific to Vamma 12 paid off.
“The unit achieves an unparalleled level of effici­
ency,” the expert sums up.
Equipped in this way, the new Vamma unit will
increase power generated by the plant from anaverage of 1,350 GWh to 1,580 GWh per year. The
increase of 230 GWh corresponds to the ­annual
electricity demand of 11,500 apartments. ­At thesame time, Vamma 12 also creates the breathing
room needed to modernize the older turbines.
This is because in many situations, only the newunit needs to be activated – at flow rates of 400
to 500 m³/s, it can generate all of the ­power on its
own. E-CO Energi only activates additional tur­bines as required when the flow rate exceeds thislevel. At about 1,500 m³/s, all twelve units finallyrun at full capacity. If the Gomma river flows
even faster, the flood gates are opened. “The new
turbine gives us greater flexibility to make up­
grades and adjustments to other turbines, which
extends their service life,” says Alf Inge Berget,
Managing Director of E-CO Energi. The climatechanging toward more precipitation and milder,wetter years was also an important factor in thedecision to increase capacity.

The new turbine
gives us greater flexibility
to make upgrades andadjustments to other turbines,
which extends theirservice life.
Alf Inge Berget
CEO of E-CO Energi

For Hafslund E-CO CEO Finn Bjørn Ruyter,there’s no question that the investment in­Vamma 12 will pay off – both for his company andfor ­Norway as a whole. “We believe that hydro­
power will become increasingly important in thecontext of the energy revolution,” the executive
is convinced. “The Vammafossen waterfall has
been used to generate electricity for the past 100
years, and with Vamma 12, we’ve laid the foun­dation for efficient and socially responsible­resource management over the next 100 years.”innovate 13

Trendsetterfor the Energy
Revolution
The construction of Snowy 2.0 in Australia is not only goingto c­ reate one of the world’s largest pumped-storage power plants
as the megaproject will also increase the share of power
generated from sustainable sources in its energy mix and createa huge storage facility for volatile wind and solar energy.
In this context, the variable-speed turbines that
Voith is supplying as part of the electrical and mechanicalequipment play a key role.

14 innovate

hypower N° 32

Paving the way for an entire continent to com­pletely cover all of its electricity needs from renew­
able energy sources for generations to come –it’s hard to imagine a more ambitious goal, even in
the hydropower industry. But this is exactly what
Snowy Hydro Limited is looking to achieve.
The Australian power company headquartered in
Cooma (in the state of New South Wales) is­massively expanding its infrastructure to build
Snowy 2.0, which will be one of the world’s largest
pumped-storage power plants. In doing so, theThe Snowy Mountains, the highest mountain range
in Australia, are located in the state of
New South Wales. Numerous reservoirs there form thebasis for generating electricity from hydropower.

focus isn’t only on power generation with a total
capacity of 2,000 megawatts, but also on se­
curing Australia’s energy supply, which will increas­
ingly rely on renewable energy sources in the­future. This is why Managing Director and CEOPaul Broad views Snowy 2.0 as an expansion
pro­ject of national importance. “Snowy Hydro,­supercharged by Snowy 2.0, will underpin Austra­
lia’s renewable energy future and keep the lights
on for generations to come,” the executive ex­plains.
And Voith is playing a critical role. As part ofa consortium, the technology company wasawarded a major contract to supply the electricaland mechanical components for the Snowy 2.0
project. This includes six pump turbines with anameplate capacity of 333 megawatts each, threeof them with variable speed. Voith is also supply­
ing six motor-generators, the auxiliary systems,
and the entire power plant automation system. In
a bidding process that lasted almost two years,
the company was ultimately able to secure thecontract as a result of its pumped-storage exper­
tise. “Voith is extremely proud to be part of thisexciting and important hydropower project and tocontribute to the further expansion of renewableenergy in Australia,” says Uwe Wehnhardt, CEOof Voith Hydro.

Energy Storage
Snowy 2.0 is­designed to store
enough energy
to supply three­million householdswith electricity
for a week.

Pump Turbines
The six reversible
pump turbines
had to be designed
for the considerable headof 720 meters.

Snowy Hydro currently operates nine power
plants in the Snowy Mountains. At full
capacity, Snowy 2.0 will add 2,000 megawattsof energy generation.

100 %2,000 MWhypower N° 32

innovate 15

The plan involves linking the two existing
Snowy Scheme dams, Talbingo and the higher-­lying Tantangara, via underground tunnels. In an
underground power station located almost 1,000
meters deep in the rock between the two dams,
six reversible pump turbines will then either gener­
ate power from the water falling through themfrom the Tantangara Reservoir or pump it back up
into the Tantangara Reservoir from the Talbingo
after generating power. The power required forpump operation will be supplied by wind turbines,
for example, for which there is no overnight de­mand. This means that Snowy 2.0 will become ahuge reservoir with an energy storage capacityof up to 175 hours, which is more reliably available
than wind or solar power and helps to prevent
supply bottlenecks. The power plant can quickly
provide additional capacity during peak loads; if
required, the electricity can be fed into the gridwithin 90 seconds, Snowy Hydro promises. The
plant is scheduled to begin energy production
in 2024.

1 Talbingo Reservoir
2 Outlet structure
3 Tailwater tunnel
4 Tailwater surge chamber
5 Underground power house
6 Pressure shaft
7 Cable shaft
8 Surge tank
9 Headwater tunnel
10 Intake structure
1
11 Tantangara Reservoir

8

11
9

10

Enlightening
The additional energy
produced by
Snowy 2.0 is enoughto power
200 million LEDs atthe same time.

2024

The Snowy Mountains Scheme
Tantangara
Talbingo

7

Start Date
Once all of the work
has been completed,
Snowy 2.0 is­scheduled to feed
electricity into
the grid forthe first time at theend of 2024.

6

2

16 innovate

The variable-speed pump turbines, which areeach coupled to an asynchronous motor gen­erator, play a key role in this process. In contrast
to a synchronous generator, this double-fed asyn­chronous generator’s mechanical speed of ro­ta­tion isn’t tied to the grid frequency. Decoupled inthis way, it can quickly be adapted to the respec­tive operating conditions. This makes the pumpturbines more flexible. “On the one hand, they are
infinitely variable in pump mode and can there­
fore better compensate for voltage and frequency
fluctuations in the grid, and on the other hand,
they can be used to stabilize the grid frequency
due to their shorter reaction times,” explains Bernd
Mayr, Head of Hydraulic Development, Voith­Hydro.

3
45

hypower N° 32

The technology has already been demonstrat­
ing its capabilities at the Frades II pumped-stor­
age power plant in Portugal since April 2017. For
the Snowy 2.0 project, however, Voith implement­
ed project-specific enhancements in order toachieve a wider performance spectrum. “We haveachieved a much wider control range than with
Frades II,” Mayr emphasizes. Martin Giese, Senior
Expert Pump Turbines, Voith Hydro, adds thatthe fact that variable-speed and fixed-speed
turbines are designed for different requirements
needing to be taken into account right from thedesign stage: “The main difference is the wide,­s table, cavitation-free operating range in pumpmode, which is essential to achieve the large
power control range.”
Additional differences are due to the geolo­
gical conditions in Australia – while the maximum
drop/head at Frades II is 436 meters, it is over
700 meters at Snowy 2.0. “This head also resultsin higher structural and mechanical demands,”
Giese makes clear, “which must be taken into
­account during the design process to ensure thatthe individual components’ permissible stress­levels aren’t exceeded.” In addition, the Talbingo
and Tantangara Reservoirs are located 27 kilo­
meters apart, meaning that the flow losses due tothe long pipelines also need to be taken into ac­
count during the planning.

In addition to three variable-speed turbines,
Snowy Hydro also intends to use three fixed-speed
units. The power supply company is keeping
open the option of exploiting the benefits of vari­able-speed technology at a later date, however.
“One of the requirements that was stipulated
when the project was awarded was that the main
dimensions of the six pump turbines had to be thesame. Only the hydraulic design of the runners
could be different,” Mayr explains. This meansthat upgrading the turbines at a later date will only
require replacing the runner and the motor gen­erator. “This posed quite a challenge when it cameto the hydraulic design.”
Voith was able to present a high-performance
turbine to Snowy Hydro during the competitivemodel test that met the customer’s specifications.
“But the final product will be even better thanwhat we demoed during the pilot test,” em­phasizes Giese. The model acceptance date isscheduled for the summer of 2020.

The rotational speed of variable-speed pumpturbines (pictured: a turbine from the Frades II power
plant), which are connected to an asynchronous­motor generator, can be decoupled from thegrid ­frequency. This allows them to be started up at
short notice and offers greater flexibility.

1,000 m
27 km

The cavern for the underground power station will
be excavated at a depth of around 1,000 meters.
Long pipelines connect it to the Talbingo and Tantangara
Reservoirs, which are located 27 kilometers apart.

hypower N° 32

innovate 17

To determine the magnitude of the project,
one need look no further than its political signifi­
cance. “I am very pleased that Voith, as the­leading supplier of equipment for hydropower
plants, will be supplying Australia with the neces­sary electrical and mechanical components for
the Australian pumped-storage power plant
Snowy 2.0 in the future,” says the Australian am­bas­sador to Germany, Lynette Wood. “This­German-Australian collaboration has great poten­
tial and paves the way for extensive power gen­eration from renewable energy sources – in Aus­
tra­lia and worldwide.”

Tumut

Canberra
Blowering­Power Station

BloweringReservoir

Northern Snowy-Tumut
Jounama
Small Hydro Power Station

Talbingo

Tumut 3
Power Station

Snowy 2.0
Project

Talbingo
Reservoir

Tumut 2UG Power Station
Tumut 1UG Power Station

KiandraCabramurra

Paul Broad
Managing Director and CEO,Snowy Hydro Limited

Adaminaby

Lake­Eucumbene

Tooma
Dam

Snowy Hydro,
supercharged by Snowy 2.0,
will underpin Australia’s­renewable energy future andkeep the lights on
for generations to come.

Tantangara­Reservoir

Tumbarumba

Khancoban
Murray 2
Power Station

Cooma

Murray 1
Power Station

Jindabyne­Pumping Station

Guthega
Power Station

Mount Kosciuszko

Jindabyne
Thredbo

Berridale

Jindabyne
Mini Hydro Power Station

DalgetySouthern Snowy-Murray

TunnelSnowy Hydro Limited
Water Catchment BoundaryRiver

18 innovate

hypower N° 32

Securityand flexibility are what
EGP gains from aframework agreementwith Voith for themodernization of turbine
governors.

p. 19

30

transform
New Systems and Services

Framework Agreement Allows EGP to Plan Modernization
Projects with Greater Certainty
Enel Green Power (EGP) is taking a new approach – the subsidiary of the Italian corporation
specializing in renewable energy has entered into a framework agreement with Voith forthe modernization of turbine governors. The agreement allows EGP to plan modernization projects withgreater certainty and at the same time gives it more flexibility, as it reduces the timeneeded to negotiate the terms of individual projects. The framework agreement serves as the basis forestablishing product specifications that apply globally. The respective EGP power plants
can then adapt these to their specific needs. EGP subsidiaries in 13 countries will reap the benefits of
the agreement over the next three years. EGP has chosen to work with Voith because of thecompany’s extensive experience. Voith built the first turbine governor in 1879 and has shipped
18,000 units since then.

hypower N° 32

transform 19

20 transformhypower N° 32

More efficiency and safety, less downtime – the digital tools
from the Voith OnCare portfolio make it possible todevelop individual solutions to intelligently optimize themaintenance and operation of hydropower plants.

Intelligent
HydropowerSolutions

OnCare.Availability
Continuous
Improvement

Consulting

A t=
OnCare.Asset

MTBF
MTBF + MTTR + MTTM

Data Collection

Data Analysis

OnCare.Availability
Control Interface

Reporting

MTBF = Mean time between failures
MTTR = Mean time to repair
MTTM = Mean time to maintain

Discover Our Digital Tools fromthe Voith OnCare Portfolio

Reactive
OnCare.Availability
OnCare.Availability empowers operators to reduce theimpact of unplanned downtime. The holistic methodology
identifies weaknesses in the supply of spare parts,
among other issues, or specifies the required qualifications of maintenance personnel.

Solutions for Safe Plant Operation
OnCare.Health & OnCare.Acoustic
hypower N° 32

OnCare.Asset
Asset Overview with GUI
The clearly designed graphical user interface makes routine taskseasier. Users can create notifications without knowing
the asset number and easily identify the unit they are looking for.

OnPerformance.Lab
Technical hydropower
expertTechnical
diagnostics

Energy market
expertOperation /maintenanceoptimization

Data scientist

DataanalysisWork Planning and Scheduling
Visualized work planning and scheduling functions allow
users to make quick decisions and optimize maintenance tasks
and personnel deployment.

Flexible Use
OnCare.Asset can run locally on an internal server if there is noor only limited access to the Internet. Also available asa cloud-based system for customers with one or more sites.

Performance Management
The application makes it possible to monitor the organization’s
overall performance in real time as well as track costs anddowntime. Up to 20 predefined KPIs based on maintenance bestpractices make it easy to analyze maintenance processes.

Your operations andmaintenance teamMobile Application
All of the relevant maintenance information is available on
mobile devices anytime and anywhere. Users can provide immediate
feedback on the work performed.

Materials Management
The application lists all of the available parts and materials andprovides an overview of all of the relevant information. New parts canbe reordered automatically.

Preventive
OnCare.Asset
OnCare.Asset makes efficient maintenance and repair
planning possible to ensure system availability
remains high while at the same time significantly reducing
service and operating costs. To do so, it saves all of
the documentation and system data and monitors themost important performance indicators.

Condition-Based
OnPerformance.Lab
The experts and analysis capabilities of OnPerformance.
Lab help plant operators cut maintenance costs andreduce downtime through analysis and remote support.
To achieve this, the experts combine hydropower
expertise with state-of-the-art data analysis. The results
are provided quickly with understandable suggestions
and recommended measures.

by
Voith
Predictive
OnPerformance.Lab
Based on the analysis of trends and patterns in plant
operation, specialists use predictive maintenanceto forecast the occurrence of faults in order to implement
timely countermeasures through targeted service. Thisfunctionality will also be part of the OnPerformance.Lab
range of services in the near future. Over the long term,Voith plans to take environmental influences suchas meltwater, electricity demand and electricity price into
account when determining the ideal time to carry out
maintenance activities.

transform 23

Solutions for Safe Plant Operation
OnCare.Health & OnCare.Acoustic

DigitalTools

Preventive Condition-Based
Maintenance and Early Fault Detection
with OnCare.Health•	Monitoring with highly sensitive measuring systems

for effective maintenance, enhanced availability,
and increased service life	
Analysesto efficiently support and optimize preventive•
maintenance strategies•	Diagnostic tool for condition-based monitoring toensure safe operation at all times

Reactive
OnCare.Availability
Reduction of
Unplanned Downtimes•	Complements Voith services for power plant operators
designed to cut maintenance and operating costs	
Experthelp in eliminating shortcomings in spare parts•
management and logistics•	Analysis of maintenance employees’ knowledge
and skills
	Assessmentof service contracts and identification•of cost-saving opportunities
24 transformAcoustic Monitoring to
Detect Anomalies
with OnCare.Acoustic•	Continuous monitoring of hydropower plants
and auxiliary systems•	Anomaly reporting for early fault detection•	Machine learning paired with Voith Hydro expertise
reduces operating risks and maintenance costs	• Easy to retrofit existing machines with the
new technology

Preventive
OnCare.Asset

Condition-Based
OnPerformance.Lab

Efficient Service andMaintenance Planning

Digital Condition Assessment
and Expert Remote Support•	Software for planning, documenting,•	In-depth analysis of power plant operating data•	Optimization of preventive maintenance strategies

and monitoring maintenance processes	All• of the documentation andplant data is easily accessible in one place	• Early detection of weak points
ensures high machine availability	Reductionof maintenance costs and•administrative workthrough condition-based decisions
	
Immediate
support and expert advice with specific•recommended actions•	Application of industry-proven best practices

by
Voith
Predictive
OnPerformance.Lab

Consumed Life Monitoring toAssess Plant Service Life•	3D scans of the runners are used to create anumerical calculation model	Assessment
reveals remaining technical lifetime•of the turbine•	Improved plant operation and optimized
replacement /spare parts planning achieve savings

hypower N° 32

Securityand flexibility are what
EGP gains from aframework agreementwith Voith for themodernization of turbine
governors.

p. 19

30

transform
New Systems and Services

Framework Agreement Allows EGP to Plan Modernization
Projects with Greater Certainty
Enel Green Power (EGP) is taking a new approach – the subsidiary of the Italian corporation
specializing in renewable energy has entered into a framework agreement with Voith forthe modernization of turbine governors. The agreement allows EGP to plan modernization projects withgreater certainty and at the same time gives it more flexibility, as it reduces the timeneeded to negotiate the terms of individual projects. The framework agreement serves as the basis forestablishing product specifications that apply globally. The respective EGP power plants
can then adapt these to their specific needs. EGP subsidiaries in 13 countries will reap the benefits of
the agreement over the next three years. EGP has chosen to work with Voith because of thecompany’s extensive experience. Voith built the first turbine governor in 1879 and has shipped
18,000 units since then.

hypower N° 32

transform 19

Digital Maintenance Strategy
The expert sees the key to this in a customized
digital maintenance strategy. It is based on
the existing maintenance model and supplements
it with services and software solutions from theVoith range to address the operators’ pain points
in a targeted and simultaneous manner: “Down‑
times that are too long; a lack of transparency
when it comes to costs, documentation, and plan­ning; and maintenance intervals that are too
short,” says Dr. Habets, counting down the list.
Two examples: If the hydropower plant op­
erator wants to improve its reactive maintenance,
the OnCare.Availability service allows it to iden­‑­tify weaknesses in spare parts management andeliminate bottlenecks in logistics to reduce unplan­ned downtimes. If the company wants to improve
its preventive maintenance, the OnCare.Assetsolution helps it evaluate and manage technicaland digital asset data in a transparent manner.
Because the software is based on the IIoT platform
OnCumulus, it can also be linked to other Voith
applications for hydropower. “With OnCare.Assetas an important component of intelligent, digitalsolutions, plant operators can cut their main­
tenance and repair costs by around ten percent,”cal­culates Dr. Felix Lippold, Global ProductManager, Voith Hydro.

hypower N° 32

Combining Hydropower Expertisewith Data Analysis
Condition-based maintenance via OnPerfor‑
mance.Lab, in which Voith experts use data anal­y­sis and remote support to optimize system
maintenance and operation, holds great potential.
“As part of the Digital Health Assessment, wetransform the data and discover, for example, thata turbine is taking increasingly longer to stop,and then alert the customer accordingly,” explains
Dr. Habets. “This information can be used to ex‑
tend plant maintenance intervals and shift them totimes when electricity prices are low. That istrue revenue-optimized maintenance planning.”
To get there, Voith is deliberately pursuing a
digitalization strategy that differs from the big-dataapproach of large IT providers. Instead of mere‑
ly analyzing vast quantities of data, the company
is also leveraging its domain knowledge and over
150 years of hydropower expertise, the productmanager emphasizes. “We come from the en­gineering sector and understand the customer’s
pro­blems because we had them ourselves. Thismeans we can translate this into sound advice andcustomized, extremely specific solutions.”

by
Voith

Solutions

The pressure’s rising. In addition to the growing
demand for energy, hydropower plant opera‑
tors also have to cope with the consequences ofintegrating renewable energy technologies into
the power supply system. After all, hydropowerplays a key role across the globe as a battery andbuffer for sustainable power generation. It has
to respond to fluctuations in grid frequency
caused by volatile energy sources as quickly as it
does to peaks in demand. “Due to the dynamic
nature of renewable energy sources and the fre‑quent load changes, the pressure resulting frommaintenance requirements and the cost pres­‑sure are both increasing,” explains Dr. Matheus
Habets, Global Product Manager, Voith Hydro.
“Digital solutions are the only way operators canmeet these challenges.”transform 27

New
Per­
spec
tives

Nepal lies in the Himalayas
between China and India. The WorldBank sees growth opportunities
for Asia’s third poorest country in thedevelopment of hydropower,
among other areas.

Nepal has large hydropower reserves, but can barely tap
them. This is what the German Technical School, which was built
entirely from donations, wants to change through its
vocational training program. It is providing young people and thecountry opportunities for economic development. Voith, in turn,supports the project on many levels.

28 transformhypower N° 32

cGermanTechnical School

2009

Beginning offund­raising for a­children’s village inDhunibesi(Dhading District).

2015

A huge earthquake
strikes Nepal. The
charitable organization
Zukunft für Nepal
Ostwürttemberg(Future for Nepal East
Wuerttemberg)­collects aid supplies
for the population.
­Voith employees
contribute through­financial andin-kind donations.

2016

Voith enters into anagreement with
DEG/KfW* to set up a
metal training workshop in Dhunibesi.
Construction work
­begins at the end of
the year. The building
shell is completed
in April 2018. *(i.e.
German Investment &Development Bank)

hypower N° 32

1,600. Herwig Jantschik only needs a single­n umber to explain Nepal’s problem. “Every day,
1,600 young people leave the country to workin the low-wage sector in other countries.” The
United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
ranks the republic in the Himalayas among the 20
poorest nations in the world – due, in part, tothe civil war that raged here between 1996 and2006 and the major earthquake of 2015.
But Jantschik, who works as a social consultant at Voith in Heidenheim, won’t let this stophim. He wants to help the country and its people
primarily through two means – education and­h ydropower. “Nepal has 40 GW of exploitable­h ydropower potential that has not yet beentapped. This is one of the country’s major growth
projects. But all of the local companies lack hydro­
power service technicians, and they are reallyhungry for personnel,” Jantschik notes. His plan
is to provide the economy with qualified em­
ployees in order to promote the sustainable gene­ration of electricity and at the same time offer
Nepalese young people career prospects.

Nothing is possible
in the ­country without support
from locals who
are treated as equals.

he launched the “Voithians for Nepal” initiative.
­Together, they collected money and donations in
kind for the earthquake victims in Nepal’s remotemountain regions and helped with everythingfrom blankets and dishes to dry food and tents.
Voith made sure the expansion of the school
could continue. The company not only provided
machines for training, but also signed a contract
with the KfW subsidiary German Investment
and Development Company in 2016 to ­financethe metal workshop. The 4,000 m² plot of land inDhunibesi was donated to Jantschik and his­partners by a local resident. “Nothing is possible
in the country without support from locals who
are treated as equals,” he says.
Five Voith trainees, two trainers, and an en­gineer who all traveled to Nepal especially for thispurpose also provided support – together they
set up key infrastructure such as the electricity
supply. A particularly long monsoon season meantthat the remaining construction work could only
be completed six days before the grand opening.

Bottleneck
The only access road was always impassable­during the monsoon season, meaningthat construction work had to be postponed.

Herwig Jantschik
Zukunft für Nepal Ostwürttemberg Association

The 59-year-old has long had close ties tothe country. Together with his wife Petra Pachner,in 2009 he collected numerous donations –including from his colleagues at Voith, among­o thers – to build a children’s village in Dhunibesi(Dhading District). In 2013, the idea was born toextend it by adding a general and vocational
school including a training workshop to teachmetalworking skills. In the fall of 2019, an impor­tant milestone was reached in pursuit of thisgoal: the German Technical School was officiallyopened in a ceremony that included German­Ambassador Roland Schäfer and Nepalese andGerman politicians and businesspeople.
In between lie around six years and a lot of
hard work. “The earthquake in 2015 set us back,”
Jantschik admits. But he didn’t let it discourage
him. After the natural disaster, he founded
the charitable organization Zukunft für Nepal Ostwürttemberg (Future for Nepal East Wuerttemberg) together with Pachner and the hydro­powerengineer and Nepalese Pawan Dhakal. And

Helping on Site
Trainees and trainers from Voith in
Heidenheim set up the basic infrastructure
at the construction site.

transform 29

Achieving lasting
results that will endure
generations isimportant to Voith.

Liquid GoldAt around 147,000 km², Nepal occupies
only a relatively small area – but almost 4,000 km²
of it consists of inland waterways.

GermanTechnical School

2019

Markus Rieck
President Asia & Europe,
Chief Sales Officer,
Senior Executive Vice President, Voith Hydro

China

Dhunibesi
Kathmandu

Mount
Everest

Nepal

India

The machines­required arrive at the
beginning of the year.
Voith trainees and­instructors begin­setting up the infra­
structure. Partsof the workshop arebrought in to operationin April. The grandopening ceremony
with politicaland ­business leaders
follows in October.

2021

The program will be
expanded to include
vocational training
to be an electrician.

Grand Opening Ceremony
The official opening in October 2019 was precededby a festival with all of the villagers.

In the meantime, the training center is up andrunning. A total of 13 welders are currently learning at the German Technical School. The goal is
to train 220 apprentices each year, spread acrosstraining workshops focusing on metal, wood, andsewing. Expansion plans have long been in place.
“In the future, we want to train hydropower
service technicians,” says Jantschik, “and we arealso going to train electricians, probably startingin 2021.”In the process, he continues to count on his
employer. “The partnership with Voith is important
to us, because the company has demonstrated
its commitment through its donations. We arealso discussing sending Voith trainers to seminars
in Nepal for a limited period of time.” The objective is to achieve the highest possible teachingquality and thus help the country and its people todevelop.

30 transform

Initiators
Petra Pachner, Herwig Jantschik,and Pawan Dhakal (not pictured) coordinatedthe construction of the school.

Meanwhile, around 6,500 kilometers awayfrom Nepal, Jantschik continues to work on the
project and get his colleagues involved. Voith’scafeteria in Heidenheim hosts three “NepaleseDays” each year, serving a meal similar tothe ­local lentil dish Dal Bhat. These lentils with
­Spätzle, a Swabian specialty, then cost one euro
more – another contribution that helps out inthe Himalayas.

hypower N° 32

p. 3141

reflect
Insights and Inside Views

Extensive Power Plant Modernization in Canada
To support its plant modernization efforts, the Canadian utility Ontario Power Generation has
selected Voith to perform two turbine generator overhaul projects across the province.
At the iconic Niagara Falls, Voith is refurbishing U5, one of 10 units at the Sir Adam Beck 1 generating
station, which was built almost a century ago. The scope of work includes the overhaulof the generator and 55 megawatt turbine. Voith will supply new components, including the head cover,bottom ring and wicket gates, as well as perform inspections on its civil works. A significant
upgrade of the balance of plant electrical equipment is included along with a complete overhaul of thegenerator. The modernizing of the single-unit Silver Falls generating station, located innorthwest Ontario, will be done in parallel. Voith has redesigned a new generator stator core andwindings to increase unit performance and reduce an existing vibration problem. The scopealso includes refurbishment of the turbine.

hypower N° 32

reflect 31

32 reflect

hypower N° 32

IngulaImplementing complex hydropower projects infaraway countries and foreign cultures – a commis­
sioning ­engineer’s job is both fascinating andchallenging. Simon Walch, Head of Commissioning atVoith Hydro in Heidenheim, Germany, describes
the skills he requires and the career opportunities heopens up.

South Africa
The Ingula Pumped
Storage Station plays an­important role instabilizing the country’s
power grid.

ZAF

It begins with preparations back at the office. The com­missioning engineer first familiarizes themselves withthe project and carefully reviews the contract, meetswith the design engineers, goes through the designs, andidentifies points of contact with installers and the cus­
tomer. They define the scope and sequence of testingand select the measuring instruments and tools. On
the job site, they then take over responsibility for the­individual trades from the assembly team.

Can you provide a rough outline of atypical commissioning job?

A major one. As a commissioning engineer, you are
the interface between the customer and the supplier, be­tween the technology and the schedule, in short, be­tween a variety of different stakeholders. If you can’t get
the turbine up and running while 20 of your coworkers
and 30 of the customer’s employees are standingaround asking, “So what now?”, then you have to keepcool, mediate between the parties, and come up witha satisfactory solution.

What role do social skills play?

Adventuresin Commissioninghypower N° 32

reflect 33

ThailandAs part of an expansion
project, Voith doubled
the capacity of
the Lam Ta Khong
pumped-storage power plant
to 1,040 MW.

THA

Planning
Each commissioning
project is preceded by athorough reviewof the contract andconsultations with designers,
installers, and thecustomer.

→

Control
Still in the office,the commissioning engineer
defines the scope and­sequence of testingand selects the measuring­instruments and tools.

There are several things. One is the technical challenge – you gain a comprehensive
overview of the entire plant in a very short time, which hardly anyone else has. Fromthe generator to the turbine, auxiliary systems, auxiliary plants and control technology,
at some point you know the entire power plant like the back of your hand and yet
still learn something new every day.
Moreover, it is a very demanding profession in terms of the actual tasks. We needto solve problems and fix errors or malfunctions, often improvising and finding aneat and cost-effective solution as quickly as possible, even under time pressure.
This means you are pushed to the limit right from the start. As a person, yougrow tremendously in this profession, because you take on a lot of responsibility andhave to learn to handle it.

Mr. Walch, through your work on numerous
international projects, you havefirst-hand knowledge of the profession ofcommissioning engineer. What doyou find so appealing about this job?

First the individual systems are commissioned “dry,”i.e., at a standstill. When all of the systems are ready,the wet commissioning process begins. This is the firsttime the generator set is turned on. Depending on
the type of power plant and scope of supply, tests arecarried out over several days or weeks.
Every unit is a prototype and you have to imagine
the dimensions in which we work – a turbine with a­capacity of several hundred megawatts can have a headof 1,200 meters or a flow rate of over 100 cubic meters
per second. In the event of an emergency shutdown, it
needs to be stopped within seconds. There’s no margin
for error.

Lam Ta Khong34 reflect

hypower N° 32

Iceland
An acoustic monitoring
system based onmachine learning and artificial
intelligence has
been used for predictive
maintenance of the ­Búðarháls Hydropower Plant
since 2018.

ISL

Yes, in Iceland we got caught in a heavy snowstorm on the way home. Visibility
dropped to zero and two out of four vehicles got stuck. We had to pull together andfight our way through the last 30 kilometers, which took more than three hours.
The next day, the sun was shining brightly and the customer’s employees pulled ourvehicles back onto the road. We thanked them with a few beers after work. We­generally also work in locations where the situation on the ground is precarious or a
medical facility is far away. That’s why Voith draws up safety concepts and can­evacuate employees or postpone operations in an emergency.

Have you ever found yourself
in a sticky situation?

Budarhals

Actually, it’s the unforeseen things – these can be tech­nical issues, but also external influences such as floods,
riots, strikes, or supply shortages. In South Africa, forexample, grid fluctuations occurred due to outages
at other power plants. This meant we had to interrupt ourcommissioning tests and temporarily run the generator
by hand to supply the grid with power for a short time,
particularly early in the morning and late in the evening.

What do you consider the greatest
challenge of your work?

It isn’t only a question of the country, but alsoof the people on the team. The intercultural challenges
reveal themselves during day-to-day work together,
as well as during meals; the cafeteria chef can neverplease everyone. On religious holidays or festivals, theteams also have to come to an agreement – we try toensure that our Islamic colleagues can leave work a little
earlier during Ramadan in order to break the fast in theevening, for example. In the same vein, we try to ensurethat other colleagues have time off during the Hindu­festival of lights or on Christmas.

hypower N° 32

reflect 35

The now 30-year-old­completed a cooperative­education programin ­mechanical engineering at­Siemens in 2009. He joined­Voith Hydro in 2013.
After various assignments
as a turbine commissioning­engineer, Walch wasappointed commissioning­manager for the Ingula Pumped
Storage Scheme projectin South Africa. After
its ­completion, in 2017 hetransferred to Voith Hydro
Shanghai (China) to
manage the commissioningof the Lam Ta Khong projectin Thailand. He returned
to Germany in 2018 and has
worked here in his current­position ever since.

Simon Walch works
as Head of Commissioning for
Voith Hydro in Heidenheim.
From there he coordinates
the work on hydropower­projects in Western Europe,­Africa and parts of Asia,
among other tasks. In addition,
he supports theteams ­themselves on site,
if necessary.

About
Simon Walch

English is the primary language spoken on manyof our job sites, which means you have to speak it tocommunicate and do your job. Portuguese and French
are other languages spoken on many sites. In manycases, you’ll also work with local staff who don’t speak
any foreign languages, so you have to use body lan­
guage and gestures to communicate.

What role do language skills
and intercultural understanding play during assignments
abroad?

Yes, definitely. You’re often confronted with things thatyou’d never encounter in a normal office environment.
Sometimes you’re on your own when a problem arises in
the field. There often isn’t much time for discussions
or back-and-forth questions. It’s the commissioning en­
gineer’s responsibility to find a solution, make a decision
quickly, and then implement it. This can be very de­manding and stressful. But I also love it, because you get
to see the results of your work immediately.

Does this extremely close colla­boration with customers help
you develop your own professional
and interpersonal skills?

ReportingAfter commissioning, allof the departments
involved receive feedback.
The feedback helps
employees learn from any­mistakes and further ­optimize the systems.

Trial Runs
Commissioning consistsof the “dry phase”(systems at a standstill)
and the subsequent“wet phase” (generator set
brought into actual operation
for the first time).

A lot! You really are the face of the company for the customer and other stake­holders
on the job site. If you establish rapport and support each other during on-site
activities – but also outside of the contract – it helps a lot. For example,you may carpool
after work to watch a movie together at the nearby theater, or go hiking ­together on
your day off.

Commissioning engineers communicate directlywith the customer. How much diplomatic skill
and social competence do they need to possess?

That was after the Ingula contract in South Africa, which
was a complex project involving many different trades.
I had just recently taken over as Head of Commissioning
and had 40 colleagues from 20 different countries on
my team. The dry commissioning phase was very chal­lenging.
When we finally turned on the first turbine and­e verything worked perfectly, that was just an amazing­m oment for the whole team and for the customer.
We all toasted to it – with non-alcoholic champagne.

What was your greatest moment ofhappiness so far after successfullycompleting a commissioning project?

You learn very, very much, very, very quickly – including
about yourself. You have to develop a lot of self-con­fidence and be extremely open-minded. In addition, youfeel a much greater sense of team spirit on a job sitethan you do at an office. You suffer together, you cele­
brate the achievements together – it’s a much more­intense working relationship.
If you’re there for a few months or a year and inter­
act with the people on a daily basis, develop a friendly
working relationship or even real friendships, then you
get to know the country and its culture from a much­different perspective than if you were just a tourist. This
broadens your horizons tremendously.

What advantages does the job offer
beyond the purely professional?

“Hy”
Potentials
Female Potential for
Hydropower

The “Women in Hydropower” mentorshipprogram aims to make the field ofhydropower more attractive for qualified women and to support female
engineers, among other goals. Five North
American associations developed
the concept, and Voith Hydro supports
it and encourages its female employees to participate.

Haley Lawler
Engineer,
Voith Hydro, York
(Mentee)
Besides her studies in mechanical engineering withfocus on energy systems engineering, Haley Lawler alsobrought experience from an internship at Volvo Construction Equipment when she joined Voith Hydro
in May 2016. Privately, her dog and the work at the local
animal shelter are her main activities as well as hiking,reading and baking.

36 reflect

hypower N° 32

Gigantic buildings with components weighing hundreds of tons,
controlled by a complex interplay of mechanics, hydraulics and digital
control technology: That’s a quick summation of hydropower, and it
is not necessarily an industry that women consider first when choosing
a profession. But that perception is crumbling. “The presence of
women in science and technology is growing worldwide, and I believe
this trend will continue in hydro,” says Erin Yingling. She speaks
from experience. As an engineer at Voith Hydro in York (Pennsylvania,USA), she works in the male-dominated hydropower industry.
The goal of the mentoring program “Women in Hydropower” is tocreate a better balance and to develop opportunities for female
specialists in the industry. The idea is to bring together experienced
women with those just starting out, so the exchange of informationand ideas can lead to new perspectives and practical solutions for both.
This very personal form of support is part of a larger plan. Back inthe summer of 2018, the International Hydropower Association declaredthat it wanted to enhance the role of women in the energy sector whileaiming to boost the number of women in management positions.
“I wanted to do something useful for the world and embark on acareer in renewable energy,” explains Lawler, who is participating in the
program as a mentee. However the Voith engineer recognized thathydropower is a traditionally male industry and the proportion of women
is low. She said the Society of Women Engineers claims there’s a
1 to 8 ratio of women to men in engineering, and the mentoring program
helped her not to be intimidated by the imbalance. “My mentor has
been working in male-dominated areas for over 20 years now. She had
similar problems to me when she entered hydropower but has grad­ually gained respect and ascended. It was very inspiring for me to hear
that,” says Lawler.
In addition to the gender distribution, the age difference also plays
a role, as her Voith colleague Kiersten McCauslin has noted. “Fromwhat I have observed, the average age of the engineers is somewhere
between the mid-thirties to late-forties,” she says. The female engineers, on the other hand, have often just graduated, which is reflectedin the behavior of the older generation toward them. “I found myself
in many situations in which a male colleague felt that he had to behave
differently because I was a woman.”hypower N° 32

Erin Yingling
Engineer,
Voith Hydro, York
(Mentee)
Holding a degree in biomechanics, Erin Yingling joined
Voith Hydro in May 2017. After one and a half years
as a quality engineer, she is now working as a development engineer. Her hobbies include hiking andcycling, but above all her dog and her commitment toU.S. animal welfare organization ASPCA.

The presence of womenin science and technology
is growing worldwide,and I believe this trend willcontinue in thefield of hydropower.
Erin Yingling
Engineer at Voith Hydro

reflect 37

Erin Yingling also had to experience that some men simply don’t likeworking with women, and sometimes they try to make women’s jobs
more difficult. For example, a supplier once refused to give her required
quality documentation but immediately gave it to a male colleague
when he requested the same information.
Experienced specialists can confirm these problems. “This is nothydropower-specific – women in engineering and technical professions
are often treated differently in the beginning because of the stereotype
that they are more emotional,” confirms Alyssa Minnier, Area Manager of
Assembly in Manufacturing at Voith Hydro and one of the mentors of
the program. “This can affect how they are seen and treated underpressure or in challenging situations.” The exchange with her program
partner, who came from a completely different industry, gave her important insights. “It was very interesting to hear her perspective and to
see that she mirrored my experience even though we had very differ-­ent roles in our companies.”
However, a lot may also depend on the area of activity. “If there
are different standards applied to men and women, I haven’t noticed
them,” says Stephanie Nielson, Business Development Manager
HyService at Voith in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. “This may be partly due to my sales role and the fact that I deal with engineers andplant managers who make decisions about my product offering and notabout me and my capabilities as a whole.” For Nielson, who also par­ticipates in the program as a mentor, a key to her success was finding her
voice and meeting colleagues and customers on a professional level
and with a common goal in mind. “Attitude is the most important factor
for our acceptance and success,” she emphazises.

Stephanie Nielson
Business Development Manager
North America,
Voith Hydro, Mississauga(Mentor)
The studied administrative scientist originatesfrom British Columbia, Canada. Equipped with marketing
experience, she started in sales in the field of electrical engineering before joining Voith Hydro in 2017.
In her spare time, Stephanie Nielson writes motivational
books, gives lectures and loves painting.

Kiersten McCauslin
Engineer,
Voith Hydro, York
(Mentee)After graduating in mechanical engineeringfrom the University of Pittsburgh, Voith Hydro was
the first employer for the engineer in May 2013.
Apart from her professional life, Kiersten McCauslin
spends most of her time with her family, goes
hiking and is interested in movies.

38 reflect

hypower N° 32

It was very interesting to hear
her perspective and to seethat she mirrored my experienceeven though we had very
different roles in our companies.
Alyssa Minnier
Area Manager Assembly in Manufacturing at Voith Hydro

Kiersten McCauslin can confirm that the mentorship helps develop the
self-confidence needed to achieve this attitude and use it in a pro­fes­
sional setting. Voith had made her aware of the program. When the­engineer subsequently joined it, she had just switched from Engineeringto Quality in York. “But I soon realized that my passion was still for­engineering,” the young woman recalls. Her mentor encouraged her
to talk to the technical manager and make it clear that she’d like tocome back as soon as there was an opening. “And I’m happy to say it
worked. I now work as a mechanical engineer again.”
Participation in the program has also paid off for Erin Yingling.
Her mentor worked for one of Voith’s customers, and as a result of the
program, the two not only developed a close relationship, but also
gained a positive impression of each other’s company. “I believe thateven small personal connections can do a great deal to build trust
between companies,” she says.
Kiersten McCauslin also recognizes the benefits of the programfor individual companies and the entire industry as a whole. “The hydropower associations want to invest in us women,” she’s convinced.
After all, the industry needs the contribution of women, too. “The mentorship program is a way to build our confidence in this industry,
which in turn helps the industry retain its female employees over thelong term.”

Mentorship Program

Alyssa Minnier
Area Manager Assembly in­Manufacturing, Voith Hydro, York
(Mentor)
The mechanical engineer is originally from Dillsburg,
Pennsylvania, USA. She joined Voith Hydro in June2012 directly after earning her degree. Outside of work,
Alyssa Minnier is interested in 3D printing and woodwork as well as golf, tennis, and hiking.

Womenin Hydropower
The “Women in Hydropower” mentorship program aims to specifically help
women enter and advance in the hydropower industry. To do so, a steeringcommittee brings mentors and mentees together. Over a period of eight months– each year from October to May – they discuss their experiences once amonth for one hour, either in person or on the phone. The initiative aims to help
women in the industry connect, generate new friendships, and share experi­
ences in a supportive environment.
It is supported in North America by the Northwest Hydroelectric Association(NWHA), Midwest Hydro Users Group (MHUG), WaterPower Canada,
the U.S. National Hydropower Association (NHA), and the International Hydropower Association (IHA), among others; Voith is a member of some of theseorganizations.
For further information, send an e-mail to:
womeninhydropower@gmail.com

hypower N° 32

reflect 39OutofArchitecture canpositively
influence the public
perceptionof hydropower.
Aesthetics aren’t everything. Industrial structures are much more heavily dependent
on the functional demands that influence theirarchitecture than other building categories.
The design of hydropower plants has to meetparticularly high demands. Their size alone
makes integrating them into an urban or naturalenvironment a challenge. “The relationshipbetween context and scale is often given little
consideration,” says Nanna Meidell, architect at
the Norwegian consulting firm Norconsult.
On top of this, there is also the expectation thatpower plants be able to operate efficiently
over a lifetime of more than 100 years. “Within
this rather inflexible framework, the architect
must focus on other design elements.”
40 reflect

Hydropowerand Architecture

theBox
Transparency
The Norwegian small hydropower
plant Øvre Forsland features
glass surfaces in the facade thatoffer a view of the plant’s heart,the generator sets.

Meidell has demonstrated what these look
like with the Norwegian run-of-river power
plant Vamma (see page 10). She deliberately
set the monolithic-looking new building inthe shape of a cube apart from the older existingbuildings by means of large panes of glassin the anthracite-colored facade that are almost
reminiscent of stained glass windows, which
gives the building an interesting look and createsan effect as positive as it is exciting. “Outstanding architecture in this type of projectrequires extraordinarily close collaboration withthe engineers,” the architect emphasizes.
hypower N° 32

Michael Becker confirms this as well. Hisarchitectural firm designed the Iller power
plant in Kempten, Germany, which has won
several awards, and had to meet particularlyhigh demands in the process, as the plantis not located in the middle of nowhere, but rightdowntown. This is why Becker covered theweir, inlet, and turbine house with a wave-like
concrete sculpture, the shape of which subtly
evokes associations with currents andwater. “The Iller hydropower plant attempts
to re­vitalize the industrial location, with its
distinctive brick architecture and the historicallysignificant series of bridges, as an urban
space with an appealing atmosphere for thecity’s residents,” explains the architect.
Designed in this way, it represents a connecting element.
1

Architecture, particularly thatof infrastructure facilities, should
always blend into theenvironment and react to it ina subtle way.
Michael Becker
Becker Architects, Germany

1
Interior View
The concrete, including signs offormwork, can only be seenfrom the inside. To protect thecomplex shell structure, theexterior consists of crushed river
pebbles applied to a seamlessfilm coating.

hypower N° 32

2

2
Water Sculpture
The shell, reminiscent ofa stone formed by water, limits
the inflow and covers theturbine house, which is home
to two Francis turbines.

Just like his colleague Nanna Meidell,Becker generally believes that the public accepts hydropower as a sustainable form of­energy production. But this doesn’t mean thatthe architectural requirements are any less­demanding. On the contrary: “A hydropower
plant will always have to meet high design
standards because it is part of the infra­
structure that is currently changing and will
shape our man-made environment even morethan it does today,” Becker contends.
reflect 41

Intelligent Solutions
Lay the Foundation for the
Digital Power Plant