HyPower
Voith Hydro customer magazine

Oct 2009

19

Grids as the lifelines of modern civilization I Lower CO2
emissions from hydro generators I Hydro sustainability 2009

SUMMARY

4

16

42

ReportTechnological leadership

Projects

4 Power grids as the lifelinesof modern civilization
10 Pumped storage – adapted precisely
to the power grid
14 A global network lights up the dark

16 Unsymmetrical poles for less CO2
emissions in large hydro generators

Turkey36 Akköy II – a milestone Pelton project
Brazil37 Good progress for Brazilian projects
China
38 Important milestones in China
Ocean Energies
39 A new company for ocean current
technology
Sustainability
40 Big steps for hydro power sustainability in 2009

HyPower
Voith Hydro customer magazine

Oct 2009

19

Grids as the lifelines of modern civilization I Lower CO2
emissions from hydro generators I Hydro sustainability 2009

Researchers of Brown University
in Providence, USA, took satellite
pictures to show the worldwide
allocation of wealth.

Focus
Interview
22 Flexibility for a diversity of markets
Spain
26 Green energy for Spain with new
San Esteban II
Switzerland
27 Fit for the next 40 years –Modernization of Sedrun
28 Elaborate erection work underway
at Eglisau on the Rhine River
Germany
30 New control technology for Koepchen
plant in Herdecke
Sweden32 Start of assembly during Swedish
Midsummer Night
Russia33 Uglich – doubled capacity after
rehabilitation

Essay
42 Water – a question of living
standards in the ancient worldNews from the Voith Group46 Voith Turbo
46 Voith Paper
47 Voith Industrial Services

Events48 Conferences, seminars and symposia

News
34 Voith Hydro in Montenegro
34 New award at the Rhine Falls
35 Richard K. Fisher retired
35 Cooperation with Vienna University

2

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerEDITORIAL

Dr. Roland Münch
President and CEO of Voith Hydro
Member of the Board of Voith AG

Dear readers,
Clean energy generation, along withmany other initiatives to tackle climate change and to set the scene
for a low-carbon world, is on the
top of any current agenda. It is stillamazing, however, how little hydropower is contributing to this lowcarbon scenario. When I listened to
the keynote speech of this year’s
Waterpower Conference in Spokane,
Washington, USA, I had to admitthat – politically – we do not make apoint that is strong and thus visible
enough.
Though, some political signals, forexample from the U.S., are positive:
The U.S. Energy Secretary Steven
Chu recently pledged that he will
push the addition of hydro power
plants to already existing water
infrastructures in order to tap what
he called “a massive amount of
power […] with minimal impact tothe environment”.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerThis to us clearly can be achievedby rehabilitation of equipment andefficiency increase resulting in moregeneration at existing sites, andby utilization of all multipurpose
opportunities that hydro offers.
We cannot help but simply support
this approach as the silver bullet tosustainable hydro installations withlittle impact to environment andsocial groups. This is especiallyvisible in countries with many hydropower plants operating for years.

For that reason Voith Hydro closelycooperates with the International
Hydropower Association (IHA). It is
our intention to apply the new draftof the Hydro Sustainability Assessment Protocol wherever possible.
Then we can prove that sustainability in hydro power plants can beplanned, implemented and measured. This future standard is to be
the instrument that is to provide
applicable, objective, measurable,
and repeatable findings.

However, when we talk about new
projects, we have to make sure thatthey are also environmentally andsocially friendly. Only then we will be
successful in making hydro powera crucial part of the future energy
generation mix and getting full public acceptance. And this is not doneby doing business as usual, but by
reaching out to decision making
bodies and presenting hydro powerwith all its benefits.

It will help our industry as a whole:planners, investors, policy makers,
suppliers and all public stakeholders who still might think that hydropower is renewable but not sustainable. The burden is on us to provethat it is – by joining forces now.
If you have any comments orquestions, please simply contact
me at Roland.Muench@voith.com.

3

REPORT

Power grids as the lifelinesof modern civilization

REPORTREPORT

Grids are the lifelines of our world. They link rivers toports, and railway tracks to railway stations. Every formof communication is based on grids or networks. Nothinghighlights this more than the World Wide Web, whichtoday is an essential part of a globalized world. Less inthe public eye are the power grids and yet they play a
key role in shaping social change and creating wealth.

At 7 a.m. in the morning, the worldis no longer such an easy placefor Bernd Theuner and Alexander
Wilhelm. Looking at the data fromthe system in the main nerve centerof the Southern German utility
EnBW, the EnBW Transportnetze
AG (TNG) in Wendlingen, the engineers can see that the Germanstate of Baden-Württemberg is
waking up. They can follow the welcome light which the lamps above
people’s kitchen tables are delivering and the washing and cleaning
taking place in bathrooms. They
can track how IT systems are booted up and machines are run up to
speed. It is peak load time andit is the time of day that requires a
great deal of concentration fromBernd Theuner and Alexander
Wilhelm. Their role is to maintain6

the delicate equilibrium in balancing
the amount of power fed into thesystem and the amount of power
consumed.
A large LCD screen measuring eight
meters by three meters supplies theengineers with the up-to-date information they require. Every change
in the system is displayed on an
oversized map of Baden-Württemberg. When looked at in this way,
the southern tip of Germany is madeup of green and red lines which
symbolize the high-voltage lines.
Green represents the 220 kilovolt
lines and red represents the 380 kilovolt lines. Circles in between symbolize the transformer stations.
Different colors, shapes and symbols represent individual operatingstates within the grid.

Europe’s electricity hub
Baden-Württemberg plays a keyrole in the transportation of electricity. Because of its geographicalposition within Germany there exist
close transport-connections toFrance, Switzerland and Austria.
However, when you examine thesituation in detail, the whole ofGermany is effectively Europe’s
electricity hub. No other country
has more neighbors. This makes
the Federal Republic of Germany
the key transit route when it comesto the exchange of electricity.
1.8 million kilometers of powerlines and 550,000 transformers
crisscross the country.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerREPORT

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower

7

REPORT

A tightly meshed transport grid zigzags Europe.

35,000 kilometers of these powerlines transport the electricity in the
maximum-voltage range of between
220 and 380 kilovolt nationwide.
Through the regional and local
distribution grids, this electricity ultimately reaches consumers in thehigh-voltage, medium-voltage andlow-voltage range.

8“Today we are running the grid
often at its physical and technicallimit”, states Klaus-Wolfgang Tapp.
The electrical engineer is responsible for network safety at TNG.
He spent eight years working at
the company’s main control center.
He knows what he is talking about.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerREPORT“Today we have to intervene in theprocesses taking place on a much
more frequent basis.” In Klaus-Wolfgang Tapp’s opinion, two developments have had a lasting impact
on this situation: The liberalizationof the electricity market and theincreasing supply of renewableenergies.

Territorial monopolies fall
In the mid-1990s, the liberalizationof the electricity market was only
being talked about in an abstract
sense. In Germany, the utility
companies managed the territorial
monopoly until 1998 and an
exchange of electricity took place –if at all – mainly between direct
neighbors. The impetus for liberalization came at European levelwith the aim of producing a market
based around competition. The
first states to follow this approach
included the Nordic countries,
a short time later Germany andAustria opened up their markets,then came the Netherlands.

In 2007 Italy signed up and theliberalization standards came into
force in Spain on July 1 this year.
“Today we face a market framework
for which the established grids
are not designed”, explains KlausWolfgang Tapp.

Expansion of wind energy
The electricity highways are also
being affected by the feeding in of
renewable energies, in particular
wind power. Spain, one of themain producing countries, boasts
approximately 14,000 megawatts of
installed wind power, and Germany
now has approximately 24,000
megawatts. This benefits the environment. But as it is not possible tostore wind power, the fact that the
supply of wind constantly changes
has resulted in an increased needfor energy regulation. Another factor
in Germany is that the southernpart of the country, where industry
is strongest, in fact requires thewind power produced in the north.

Everyday life in thenerve center
Alexander Wilhelm’s view is fixed
on the large screen in front of him.
At this very moment, the wind feedin across Germany comes from
698 megawatts of which 96 megawatts are taken by Baden-Württemberg. That means, at this momentwind is on a very low level – compared to the installed 24,000 megawatts. The operating modes of individual power plants are shown intabular form. The engineer is
responsible for control power dispatch and intraday trading of wind
power. He must coordinate theimport and export schedules of theelectricity traders. He must also
manage the exchange of electricity
with other control zones and monitor frequency fluctuations within thesystem. The diagram on the large
screen records target values andactual values. This determines how
much energy needs to be fed in orwithdrawn in order to be able tomaintain the current frequency of
50 hertz, which applies right acrossEurope. At the moment, everythingis looking fine, but things can quickly change.

The grid load changes over the day.

“Today we face a market
framework for which
the established grids
are not designed.”
Klaus-Wolfgang Tapp,
EnBW Transportnetze AG

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower

9REPORT

Pumped storage –adapted precisely to the power grid
In May 2009, Kopswerk II, one of
the world’s most modern pumped
storage power plants, was inaugurated in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. The operator, Vorarlberger
Illwerke AG, invested around
400 million Euros in this project.
Kopswerk II is an extremely efficient
power plant which is able torespond to fluctuations in the gridin a matter of seconds. Instead ofa conventional pump-turbine, aturbine and a separate pump areallowed for the two operation
modes with the motor-generator.
The fastest start together withshortest response to the grid can
only be assured by a special typeof hydraulic coupling between
the rotating synchronized motorgenerator shaft and the non-10

rotating pump shaft. Only the useof such a hydraulic torque converter
can realize such short switch overtimes.
Furthermore, all three pumped storage units are designed for a hydraulic short circuit, this means pumpand turbine are operated simultaneously. This involves some of thepumped water being processed
through the turbine. As a result, theunit is able to pick up the precise
quantity of power from the grid currently available.
525 megawatts of peak energy canbe fed into the power grid and up to
450 megawatts of unused energy
can be absorbed from the grid when
pumping.

Pumps, hydraulic converters,
spherical valves and butterfly valves
were supplied by Voith Hydro.
The Goldisthal pumped storage
power plant near German Neuhausin Thuringia was commissioned
from February 2003 to July 2004.
With a total capacity of 1,060 megawatts, it is one of the largest in
Europe. As at Kopswerk II, Goldisthal can also regulate the output inpumping mode, albeit using a different technique. Of the four units, two
are designed for a constant rotational speed with a synchronous
motor-generator, while two aredesigned for a variable rotational
speed with twin-fed asynchronous
motor-generators.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerREPORT

Energy as a storage mass
In cases such as these, pumped
storage plants are connected to thegrid. They have several advantages: First of all, they feature very
flexible technology, which means
they can use and deliver energy
quickly. During periods of low load,
electrical energy is taken from thegrid and used to pump water fromthe lower to the upper reservoir.
The water stored in the upper reservoir is used to generate electricalenergy during periods of peak energy demand, feeding it into the grid.

Kopswerk II in Vorarlberg, Austria.

So, the Goldisthal variable speed
machines were the first ones in
Europe accommodating a 100 MW
regulation band in pump mode.
This means that it is possible tocontrol exactly how much power
the pumped storage plant takes
from the grid.The hydraulicmachine was designed and model
tested by Voith Hydro.
The Kopswerk II and Goldisthal
pumped storage power plants areused primarily to provide regulating power in the primary and secondary range and also as a minutereserve in order to compensate
for power fluctuations in the grid.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerThe Austrian Kopswerk II plant,
commissioned in May 2009, candeliver 525 megawatts of peakenergy to the grid. The German
Goldisthal pumped storage plantboasts a total capacity of 1,060
megawatts, thus being one of thelargest and most modern facilities
in Europe.
The more dynamic the electricity
market becomes, the more important large storage facilities will be infuture. Many developments are stillin their infancy. These include theadiabatic compressed-air reservoirs
where the outgoing air drives thegenerator via a turbine. This system
is referred to as adiabatic because
the heat that is produced during thestorage of the compressed air isrecovered and the level of efficiency
increased.
Another aspiration for the future is
the storage of energy in electricvehicles. When a car is connectedto the grid, it absorbs some of theexcess energy and thus intercepts
the current spikes.

This means that the car could becharged at night in order to thenrelease the energy again during theday, when it is parked for a lengthy
period of time. This “vehicle-to-grid”
concept forms the basis for the ideathat lots of small consumers feedin power which is then transported
in an upward direction. If practiced
on a large scale, this concept willallow more possibilities to integrate
renewable energies.

Establishment of congestion
management
However, the current capacity problems cannot be solved with visions
alone. “Back in 2004 the situation
had become so acute that we werein fact worried about the securityof supply”, recalls Klaus-Wolfgang
Tapp. Together with RWE Transportnetz Strom and transmission
grid operators from the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and theAustrian state of Vorarlberg, TNG
established a coordinated capacity
calculation system – the German C– as it is known in the specialist jargon, because it contains the Western borders of Germany which aretightly meshed. At the same time an
allocation system of available transmission capacity was introduced.
It works on a simple principle:
Whoever pays most can transport.
Congestion management contains
capacity calculation and capacity
allocation. The congestion income
goes to the transmission grid operators. They are forced to use it toreduce network tariffs and push forward with the further expansion of
the grid.

11

REPORT

Connecting the Ruhr area with Austria in the 1920s: One of Hugo Stinnes’ achievements.

Origin of the European
interconnected power grid
220 or 380 kilovolts? Maybe Hugo Stinnes
would have voted for the 380 kilovolts
option. The higher the voltage, the lower
the energy loss. But a 380 kilovolt line was
not achievable at the end of the 19th century. This meant that the co-founder of theRheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk(RWE) had to adopt a different approach.
The Ruhr area, which at the time was theindustrial center of Germany, needed power.
When Vorarlberger Illwerke AG was founded
in 1924, the largest German electricity
supplier, RWE, was soon involved also.
The project was divided. RWE’s brown coalplants delivered the base load, while peakloads were covered by Vorarlberg’s storage
power plants. This constellation resulted
in the first 220 kilovolt line in the 1920s.
It extended for over 600 kilometers from
Vorarlberg to the Ruhr area.
The era of the European interconnected
power grid had begun. It was only in the
1950s that it became technically feasible
to also transport electricity through380 kilovolt lines.

Europe is moving closer together
as far as electricity is concerned.
In December 2008, eleven European transmission grid operatorsfrom Poland, the Czech Republic,
Germany, Austria, the Netherlands
and Switzerland launched an initiative to foster regional European
cooperation for system security inthe concerned countries and inwhole Europe. The involved TSOs
(Transmission System Operators)
agreed to start up a “TSO System
Security Cooperation” with the aim
to build up a permanent Security
Panel (group of security experts)
and a common IT platform for dataexchange and performing common
security assessments. TSC’s main
goal is to ensure the overall systemsecurity of the European network,
an area with 170 million citizens,and is open to the participation ofother TSOs.

Stretching the limits
in Vorarlberg
Back to everyday life in the main
nerve center: “There is a lot goingon today”, says Bernd Theuner incommenting on his day at work.

12

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerREPORT

Three yellow dots on the large
screen indicate a current warning inthe Vorarlberg area. This may resultin overloads in adjacent power lines
and in a worst case scenario there
may be a power failure. The monitors flash red. Bernd Theuner picks
up the telephone. The engineer
still has time to run through various
options for solving the problem.
His colleague Alexander Wilhelm
gets involved. Together they comb
through the flood of data comingfrom the computer. Then theybreathe a sigh of relief because
the problem has been solved.
The yellow dots have disappeared.
The situation has calmed down
and it is time for a shift change.

Investment in the future“On some days a year, we are
running the grid at its physicaland technical limit”, said KlausWolfgang Tapp initially, “and thisis despite the fact that measures
have been taken in recent years to
try to do something about it.” Moreand more of the 220 kilovolt powerlines are being replaced by themore powerful 380 kilovolt lines.
But in order to improve the security
and reliability of the grid, 400 kilometers of the maximum-voltage
grid will have to be upgraded and
850 kilometers of new power lines
will have to be built throughout
Germany by 2015.

Goldisthal, Germany.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower

13

REPORT

A global network lights up the dark
Europe

The countries on the European continent are amalgamated in a coordinated system for energy transmission called the UCTE (European
Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity). It extends
from Portugal to Poland and fromwestern Denmark down to Greece.
The transmission grid operators
EnBW Transportnetze AG (TNG),
Amprion GmbH (former RWE Transportnetz Strom GmbH), Vattenfall
Europe Transmission and transpower stromübertragung (formerly E.ON
Netz) are responsible for ensuring
the security and reliability of the
supply in Germany in the four control zones.
In addition to the Western European
UCTE, four additional coordinatedsystems exist in Europe. Nordel
supplies Scandinavia, UKTSOA
supplies Great Britain, ATSOI sup-14

plies Ireland and Northern Ireland
and BALTSO supplies the Baltic
states. Contact with the European
mainland is maintained via direct
current bridges because power
can only be transmitted using
alternating current in undersea
cables over a distance of around70 kilometers.
USA

The power grid in the USA isdivided into three sections. The
eastern part supplies around twothirds of the United States andCanada. The western grid caters
for the needs of the rest of theterritory in the two countries,
with the exception of the state ofTexas. The power needs of Texas
are supplied by the grid operator
ERCOT. As in Europe, the gridin the USA is also divided into
maximum, high, medium and lowvoltage areas. In 2005, the total

installed power capacity in the USA
and Canada was 950 gigawatts,
and in 2008 the amount of power
generated in the USA amounted to
4 ,187.5 terawatt hours. The main
source of energy is coal, followed
by gas and nuclear power. Hydroelectric power is currently in fourth
place. Although other renewableenergies have displayed slight
growth, they still play a minor role
as a source of energy.
China

In 2003, the power grid in China
was divided into the state grid andthe southern power grid, which inturn are divided into several regional power grids. The Southern Power
Grid Corporation answers directly
to the central government. A seriesof long-distance power lines areplanned or are already under construction. The aim is to create agrid connecting north and central

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerREPORT

China and extending to the east of
the country. The project is set to becompleted by 2020.
In addition, 15 ultra-high-voltage
power lines with a capacity of
800 kilovolts are envisaged. In 2005,
the installed power capacity in
China was 442 gigawatts, and theamount of power generated was
2,900 terawatt hours. The biggest
source of energy is coal, with hydroelectric power in second place.

the government is investingheavily in the construction of new
power plants. Coal-fired power
plants are used predominantly togenerate power. Hydroelectric
power is in second place. Other
renewable energies have only
been used to a very small extent
since the turn of the millennium.
In 2005, the installed power
capacity in India was 138 gigawatts, and around 745 terawatt
hours were generated. A study conducted by the German
Energy Agency dena calculated
that the cost of the grid expansion
will be 1.1 billion Euros. But if theplan really is to transport energy
trouble-free throughout Europe andto push forward with the expansionof renewable energies, there willprobably be no alternative to thefurther expansion of the power
grid. India

Today around 80 percent of the
population have access to electricity. However, power outages arecommon. The government’s stated
aim is therefore to increase thepower capacity by 100,000 megawatts. The maximum-voltage
power lines transport the power at
800 kilovolts. In order to guarantee
security and reliability of supply,

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower

Load distribution in Germany
The maximum load in Germany is 80,000
megawatts, minimum load currently 40,000
megawatts. The country’s current installedwind power is 24,000 megawatts, aiming at
a value of 50,000 megawatts by 2020.

15

TECHNOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP

16

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerTECHNOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP

Unsymmetrical poles for less CO2 emissions
in large hydro generators
There is a simple way to improve the operational efficiency ofa typical large hydro power generator improving both customer
benefits and protecting our environment. The idea is to use
unsymmetrical instead of symmetrical poles. Simulation results
show that an unsymmetrical design leads to a more homogeneous field and lower saturation effects under load conditions
reducing stray load losses in the stator winding.

These specific stray load losses arecalled “longitudinal field losses”
because they are caused by a longitudinal field inside the stator slots
due to saturation effects in the stator teeth. However, the advantagesof the proposed pole design are
only measurable under load andnot at ordinary no-load/short-circuit
test conditions as specified in IEC
and IEEE standards.
No reflection ofphysical reality

It might sound absurd, but largehydro generators are designed andoptimized from the loss perspective
for no-load and short-circuit situations while the real machines most
likely will run under load and very
seldom at no-load or short-circuit
conditions. The unsymmetrical pole
concept for electric machinery is
not totally new, but it was neverapplied for large synchronous hydrogenerators, because of the inconsistency between usual standards
and physical reality.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerThe basis for testing of unsymmetrical poles are 2D-simulation results
as shown in figures 1 and 2 for loadconditions.
The high density of the symmetricalpole machine is on the subsiding
part of the pole, where the torque ismostly generated. The teeth andpole shoe are strongly saturated onthat side of the pole. The field in thesaturated teeth is displaced inside
the slot and causes eddy current
losses – so called “longitudinal field
losses” – which can reach up to
20 to 30% of the I2R-losses inside
the stator core length.
These losses additionally heat up
the stator winding, which leads tohigher ohmic losses. These strong
saturations, which cause the longitudinal field losses, only appear
under load; they cannot be measured in the no-load and short-circuit
runs. Thus they are invisible forstandard efficiency measurements.

17

TECHNOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP

Avoiding unsymmetrical fields

If the pole shoe is inclined, themaximum air gap on one side will
be larger than the air gap on theother side, which will lead to an
unsymmetrical air gap reluctance.
Since the flux density under load isdisplaced to the subsiding end of
the pole shoe, the combination ofboth unsymmetrical effects will leadto a more homogeneous field.
Reductions of 30 to 50 %Simulations at no-load are totally
inverse to the results shown anddescribed above. The field issmooth for symmetrical poles andless homogeneous for the unsymmetrical pole alternative.
Physical reality versus

Focusing on the load-dependent
losses VSC it is common to split
these losses into ohmic losses Vohm
and stray load losses Vadd sometimes also called additional losses.
The ohmic losses can easily becalculated if the temperature during
the short circuit test ␽SC is known:standards – the discrepancy

Vohm = R␽SC . I2 = R20 °C .
All major standards for the determination of the losses suggest calorimetric measurements during threedifferent test runs:

235+␽ . 2
I
235+20

The additional losses according toIEEE are then:Vadd = VSC-Vohm

It is not the smooth field whichmakes the unsymmetrical poledesign desirable: The big advantage of this design is the reductionof the losses at load operation. The
amount of saved energy depends
on the machine design and varies
depending on parameters likestator winding slot width, strand
width or maximum air gap induction. In general it was observedthat the longitudinal field losses
can be reduced by 30 to 50%.

1. a mechanical run to determine
the windage losses,
2. a short-circuit test to determine
the load-dependent losses and3. a no-load test run to measure theload-independent losses.
The results of these three different
test runs are used to calculate thelosses under load condition for acertain guaranteed temperature.
According to the standards, the only
difference between the test runs
and load conditions are the temperatures inside the machine.

Under load:
Magnetic field of a machine with symmetrical poles

Figure 1: The density of the field lines is higher on one side.

18

According to IEEE, these additional
losses which are separated at ␽SC
are not dependent on the temperature. The IEC standard uses theguaranteed load temperature
instead of the measured short-circuit temperature to split ohmic andadditional losses. The sum of ohmic
and additional losses is supposed
to be constant according to IEC.
IEEE says that additional losses areconstant and do not depend on thetemperature.

… of a machine with unsymmetrical poles

Figure 2: The field is quite smooth on both sides of the pole shoe.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerTECHNOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP

To avoid discussions about whatstandard is closer to physical reality,
efficiency measurements must be
made under load conditions. It is,however, even more important topoint out that all standards ignore
the influence of saturation effects
under load operation.
Symmetrical pole designs are optimized for no-load and short-circuit
test runs and unsymmetrical poles
are designed for load operation.
But since the standard efficiency
measurements according to IEEE or
IEC are performed during no-loadand short-circuit, symmetrical polemachines seem to have a better
performance.
This leads close to the absurd situation that from the perspective oflosses large hydro generators aredesigned and optimized for no-loadand short-circuit while the realmachines most likely will run underload and very seldom at no-loador short-circuit.

At no-load

Figure 3: Magnetic field of a machine with symmetrical poles.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower

Figure 4: Magnetic field of a machine with unsymmetrical poles.

19

TECHNOLOGICAL LEADERSHIPOne test run equals three

To prove the simulation results andto measure the true efficiency of agenerator, a calorimetric measurement under full load must be performed to capture all losses thatappear under load. If a plant operator only wants to know the efficiency
and not the separated losses hecan also save time, since only one– instead of three test runs – mustbe performed during commissioning.
Two examples show how the standards constrain the new design. The
first simulated machine (Table 1)
has a rated output of 273 MVA,
52 poles and 624 slots. The second
machine (Table 2) represents
the upper limit of hydro power
generators with a rated power of855.6 MVA, 48 poles and 576 slots.
Since ohmic losses of the statorand field winding are basically thesame for the symmetrical andunsymmetrical pole design, they
are not explicitly mentioned intables 1 and 2.

Table 1 points out a significant
difference between the simulated
losses according to IEC and thelosses simulated under load condition. Since the longitudinal field
losses are not included in thecalculation according to IEC, theresults are much lower than the
results for the simulation underreal load conditions.
In fact there is one more fielddependent loss component, butsince the influence of unsymmetrical poles on this effect is quite
small, it is not discussed here.
According to the IEC interpretationof losses, the losses of the symmetrical poles would be 18.3 kW
lower. Even according to IEEE,the difference will be in the same
magnitude.
Reducing CO2 emissions

Assuming the calculation results
are correct, savings of 190.2 kW
are possible under rated load with
unsymmetrial pole shoes. With a
CO2 rate of 0.6 kg/kWh (average
CO2 emissions of the power gridmix in Germany) and 8,000 operat-

ing hours a year this generator
could save 1,522 MWh of energy
and 913 tons of CO2 annually,
which equals the annual CO2 emissions of 570 cars (160 g/km) driving
10,000 kilometers.
Example 2 is even more distinctive.
Machines of that size have very
high inductions which push theelectrical designers to the limit ofwhat is technically feasible. The
slots are also quite big. These factors lead to high longitudinal field
losses.
The longitudinal field losses reachvalues comparable to the rated
power of small hydro power plants
or wind power generators. In thatparticular case, losses under load
can be reduced by 1.1 MW. So one
unit could save 5,280 tons of CO2
per year.
Higher stability at rated load

Another advantage of unsymmetrical poles is higher stability at rated
load – referred to the same reactances. For symmetrical poles,
the maximum amplitude of the field

Table 1 – Machine 1 (273 MVA)
Calculated losses

20

Symmetrical poles

Unsymmetrical poles

Electrical losses at no-load

630.3 kW648.6 kW

Additional losses at short-circuit

366.8 kW397.8 kWLongitudinal field losses under load

376.9 kW245.8 kW

Total calculated losses for load according to IEC at 75 °C

2,885.3 kW

2,903.6 kW

Total calculated losses for load under real load conditions and 75 °C

3,461.0 kW

3,270.8 kW

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerTECHNOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP

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B^YYaZd[edaZ\Ve

B^YYaZd[edaZ

7PIR

Iddi]^cYjXi^dc

B^YYaZd[edaZ\Ve

Iddi]^cYjXi^dc

6^g\Ve^cYjXi^dc

6^g\Ve^cYjXi^dc

m$Z e

m$Ze
&%i^bZhhadi
adc\^ijY^cVa[^ZaY&%i^bZhhadi
adc\^ijY^cVa[^ZaY

Nd`Z^cYjXi^dc

Nd`Z^cYjXi^dc

Figure 5: Field curve of symmetrical poles.

curve is located in the pole centerat no-load, but moves outside thecenter under rated load. The proposed unsymmetrical pole shape
shifts the maximum back to thepole center where the magnetic
main axis with the highest stability
is located.
The new proposed design for poleshoes of large synchronous hydrogenerators is to increase the air gap
between pole and stator core fromone side of the pole to the other.
This leads to a more homogeneous
flux density as well as less saturation and, as a consequence, tolower losses in the stator winding.

Figure 6: Field curve of unsymmetrical poles.

Since the proposed design will only
have advantages under rated load,
measurements must be done at
rated load and not, as described
before, at no-load and short-circuit
conditions, in accordance with theexisting standards. Although standards like IEC and IEEE are essential
for the hydro business and are quite
good to verify contracted values,
they do not always serve nonstandard innovations like the proposed unsymmetrical pole shoe
design.

Authors
Thomas Hildinger
Head of Generator Engineering& Structural Mechanics
Heidenheim, Germany
Thomas.Hildinger@voith.com
Achim Frank
Product Development andElectromagnetic Tools
Heidenheim, Germany
Achim.Frank@voith.com

Table 2 – Machine 2 (855.6 MVA)
Calculated losses

Symmetrical poles

Unsymmetrical poles

Electrical losses at no-load

1,930.5 kW

2,006.2 kW

Additional losses at short-circuit

1,093.1 kW

1,093.8 kW

Longitudinal field losses under load

2,099.5 kW

1,146.3 kW

Total simulated losses for load according to IEC at 95 °C

8,495.2 kW

8,568.6 kW

Total simulated losses for load under real load conditions and 95 °C

11,328.0 kW

10,220.0 kW

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower21

INTERVIEW

Flexibility for a diversityof markets
Interview with Martin Andrä,
CEO of Voith Hydro GmbH & Co. KG, Heidenheim, Germany

Martin.Andrae@voith.com

Mr. Andrä, how do you manage
the vast geographical area thatyour unit serves?
Martin Andrä: In my eyes, we man-age this quite well. Of course, it ischallenging to serve such a wide
range of markets, regions, culturesand customers. But we are well
positioned to flexibly adapt to thisvariety. If you look at Germany or
the other Central and Western
European markets, we have participated in the upswing of modernization projects and pumped storage
revival in one. Not only did deregulation create a grid situation thattranscends boundaries throughout
Europe today, we also see theimplications of low-carbon energy
needs from all over Europe growtremendously.
Location Info
Voith Hydro GmbH & Co. KG in Heidenheim, Germany, covers a market range that
could hardly be more diverse: Western andCentral Europe, Africa, India and someSouth-East Asian markets are covered by
the unit’s daily business activities for large
and small hydro as well as modernization
activities. This full-line unit has all engineering, project management and field
service capacities in house. It also entertains a state-of-the-art facility in Germany
that manufactures all mechanical components for turbines and inlet valves. In addition, new generator pole manufacturing
was built up as part of its capabilities’ andcapacities’ portfolio.

22

How does this drive the typeof projects or business you aredoing?

Well, in the very mature hydro power markets of Europe, we see ofcourse mainly modernization anduprating of existing plants as ourcore business. However, newpumped storage development isvery active due to the need tostabilize the grid as more intermittent renewables like wind or solarcome on line.

So, the demand for low-carbon
electricity generation as well as thedevelopment of new renewables
help hydro through the demand forenergy storage and flexible, quickly
available, high volume and emission-free energy in a very fast-acting grid. Automation systems thatare to achieve remote control operation for cascades of plants or pure
upgrades in our customers’ existing
plants to state-of-the-art are additional business segments for us.
How are you responding tothese changes?

We have built up our manufacturing
capacities in Germany – and thisis amazing, if you compare this tothe downsizing we experienced justfive to ten years ago. We have reestablished mechanical manufacturing for new runners, rehabilitationof runners and other components,and on top of this, created a newworkshop for the manufacture ofhydro generators. Our facility mainly
supplies equipment to customers in
Europe. And we are happy to prove
this way that even today there arevery good opportunities to provide
competitively equipment manufactured in a German location!

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerINTERVIEW

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower23

INTERVIEW

What goes beyond thistraditional field?

We are a full-liner. Our expertise
ranges from single components tothe design of total plants and covers
the supply of complete electromechanical equipment for hydro power
plants including complex automation and control systems. We relyon highly qualified staff in all areas
to successfully manage our customers’ projects.
We are also constantly working tomeet environmental demands inmodern hydro power machines:
We are for example working on solvent-free paints for turbines throughnew, carbon fiber-based surface
protection to defy erosion and corrosion and extend the life-time ofcomponents and entire machines.
Where do you see your unit’s
specialty?

Our big advantage is our setting
within the group. Voith Hydro
operates a closely meshed network
around the world. Each unit primarily serves its markets and regions
and is in close connection with thehydro plant owners and operatorsin these regions.

24

So, Shanghai serves China andthe surrounding markets, S ão Pauloserves Brazil and Latin America,
York, Montreal, and Mississauga
serve the North American markets.

Are there regions wherebusiness for you is especiallydifficult?

Of course, it is not easy to serve
Africa these days, or some Asian
countries, with financing being
Let me point out here, that it has
required in almost all bids. And I
always been a principle in Voith
think we can openly say that we doand Voith Hydro to be global not
not agree how some hydro power isbecause of low local manufacture
being developed in theseor labor cost, but mainly because we value“Renewable energy areas with suppliers that
do not have to follow thethis closeness to theis the mostmarkets and the close discussed industry demands of guidelines
taking care of environrelationship with our
nowadays.
customers. For us, the How could this not mental and social stakeholder issues, the way werelationship counts at
be exciting?”
have and want to do it, toleast as much as highget export insurance or to cope withend products and quality, which
our own environmental standards.
of course, we deliver in our understanding of engineered reliability.
I am not saying that we do not wantthese guidelines. On the contrary,In this respect, Heidenheim is not
we are convinced we need them,
only the oldest international location
but it would be better to have themin a more than 140 year old hydroapplied for every supplier from evepower business, but still the mostry part and in any part of the world.
international unit of all worldwide:
Our employees talk to our customAre there special issues for
ers and partners in six languages!
the German location?

No, not really. In my mind, we
struggle as much with the “race forthe best and brightest minds” asother countries. This is one of ourOctober 2009 I 19 I HyPowerINTERVIEW

main challenges as a technology
leader. As a mature industry, hydropower is often regarded as conservative and, therefore, less exciting
than emerging industries.
But this is not at all true: Engineers
in this field of renewable energy
can work on a variety of challenges
that might seem small in theirpercentage for the efficiency, butlarge-scale in their effect on theoverall performance and output
of machines.
One should know that Voith Hydro
has participated in the developmentof the largest machines at theirrespective times, proving safe
operational behavior and reliable,
enduring performance. Hydro
power’s contribution to the global
demand for efficient, reliable andsafe low-emissions energy generation is incomparable. Solutions
driving the increase of performance,
reliability, safety and even moreenvironmental friendliness in termsof oil-free, solvent-free, erosionprotective and fish-friendly equipment, cannot be matched by anyother large-volume “fuel”. Renewable energy is the most discussed
industry nowadays. How could thisnot be exciting?

Also, we often tend to forget thathydro power today has the qualities
to meet multi-purpose demands that
include flood control, navigation,
recreation and grid balance at its
best, all from one natural source.

There is still a lot of potential forhydro power, not only in Europe,
but in Africa and other regions of
the world, too. And I am convinced
it can be developed in an environmentally, socially and economicallyreasonable way.

So, what would be your wish
at the end of the day?

My strong wish is that the recognition of hydro power and its manifold
benefits penetrate in a greater arena of public opinion. Not only technological achievements but also
the recognition of the beneficial useof this resource needs to be politically acknowledged again by policy
makers worldwide.

Hydro power, large and small, hasa lot to contribute to the sustainableenergy mix of the future!

We now have the unique opportunity to provide for a sustainableenergy mix with a big share of
renewable energy coming fromhydro power.
So, my wish is that the policy
makers provide a framework giving
us the opportunity to push hydropower as part of a future-oriented
and climate-friendly energy mix.

AuthorBarbara Fischer-Aupperle
Head of Communications,
Heidenheim, Germany

Barbara.Fischer-Aupperle@voith.com

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower

25

SPAINThe new power plant will
increase San Esteban’s
capacity by one third in 2012.

Green energy for Spain
with new San Esteban II
A new hydro power plant in Spanish Galicia will produce green
energy with machines from Heidenheim beginning in 2012.
Spanish utility Iberdrola ordered a Francis turbine, a verticalgenerator and a 32 meter long steel liner for its new
San Esteban II hydro power plant.

San Esteban II will be built at the
Rio Sil, the left tributary of the Rio
Miño. It will be commissioned at
the end of 2012 and, with 177 MW,
supplement the capacity of theexisting hydro power plant San
Esteban. The original San Estebanplant was commissioned in 1957
and has a capacity of 265 MW.
The new unit for San Esteban II
will be installed in a new powerhouse which will be built as cavern
inside the mountain. The upper
reservoir will be shared by bothplants.

26

With this award, Iberdrola again
affirmed their trust in Voith Hydro’s
technical solutions and capabilities.
By 2012 the German unit will also
supply four new pump-turbines withan overall capacity of 850 MW for
La Muela II.
Iberdrola is one of Spain’s largest
utilities. With around 8,800 MW, it
provides the lion’s share of Spain’s
installed hydro capacity.

AuthorJörg-Peter Albrecht
Head of Sales
Heidenheim, Germany

Joerg-Peter.Albrecht@voith.com

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerSWITZERLAND

Fit for the next 40 years –Modernization of Sedrun
The Sedrun hydro power plant is located in the immediate
vicinity of the headwaters of the Rhine, in the Swiss canton of
Graubünden. Its operator is the Kraftwerke Vorderrhein AG,
who uses a watershed of around 316 km2.

The nerve center in the cavern of
Sedrun hydro power plant will
be totally renovated from 2009 to
2011. It is the most ambitious
modernization measure undertaken
since the commissioning of thepower plant in 1962 and marks
approximately the half of the concession period.
With mechanical components andelectronic equipment, Voith Hydro
will return the plant to long-term,
reliable and safe operation. In addition, the control system is being
replaced by the process control
system HyCon 400 and thus updated to the latest state-of-the-art.

The efficiency is also being optimized through the modernization
project. To this purpose, the threemachine sets will be equipped withnew runners and new inlet nozzles.
Over the long term this brings
around two percent more efficiency,
which may at first glance appear to
be little, but it represents a significant economic factor when calculated over a 40 year operation period.
“We are proud to deliver a reliable
system which allows the customer
to satisfy his concession constantly
over the next 40 years”, said Martin
Andrä, CEO of the German unitof Voith Hydro, during the acceptance test in Heidenheim.

The refurbishing of the first of threeunits is well underway and should
be completed according to planby the end of November 2009. The
two other units will follow at one
year intervals until completion in
November 2011, when the power
plant will once again provide power
to the grid with full and enhanced
performance.

AuthorRalf Wiese
Project Manager
Heidenheim, Germany

Ralf.Wiese@voith.com

Acceptance test with the Sedrun customer in Heidenheim.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower27

SWITZERLAND

Elaborate erection work underway
at Eglisau on the Rhine River
It was late 2006 when Voith Hydro was awarded the contract
to deliver the electromechanical equipment for the rehabilitationof the Eglisau hydro power plant. In the meantime, full erection
work is underway on the construction site at the River Rhine.

28

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerSWITZERLAND

It did not take long until the ProjectManagement team led by Peter
Bührer realized that the gate anddoor of the old power house would
be the bottleneck for the deliveryof large components for the rehabilitation project. The door accommodates parts up to 4.5 meters
wide, some of the new parts are
more than 6.5 meters in diameter –the pit liner for example.

Besides the conversion of theturbine type from the original
Francis runner design from almost
100 years ago to a modern Kaplan
design, there was another equallyimportant general requirement tomeet: Eglisau’s status as a historical landmark. The preservation
obligations of the plant and its architecture had to be considered very
carefully. Much of the plant’s technical equipment is still in its original
circa 1920 state and will be preserved in its entity.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower“It was obvious that we had to findanother way to get the equipment
into the power house”, says Peter
Bührer: “Our only chance was to go
for the slice by slice-option bringing
the components in through the windows. Therefore, we now have atruck-mounted crane which lifts theparts from outside upright throughthe windows.” On the inside, a newcrane complements the historicalone to move the parts to their final
position inside the 80 to 90 meterlong power house.

By 2012, Voith Hydro Heidenheim
will deliver seven 6.7 MW Kaplan
turbines, generators and governors
as well as the complete control
package. “The new turbines evenexceed the guaranteed efficiency”,
explains Peter Bührer.
In its more than 85 years of operation, Eglisau hydro power station
produced more than 20 billion kWhof electricity. Using Kaplan turbinesinstead of the original Francis
units increases the flow rate from
385 m3/s to 500 m3/s. Thus, annual
performance can be raised about athird from 246 to 314.5 GWh. This
will be enough electricity to poweraround 80,000 households.

AuthorMarie-Luise Leonhardt
Communications Coordinator
Heidenheim, Germany

Marie-Luise.Leonhardt@voith.com

29

GERMANY

New control technology
for Koepchen plant in Herdecke
RWE Power has operated the pumped storage plant at theHengsteysee (Hengstey Lake) near Dortmund since 1930.
The power plant supplies around 130 GWh peak load annuallyand provides balancing power for safe grid operation. A major
overhaul of the power plant was finally planned for 2007.

Voith Hydro delivered the entire
control system, including the turbine
governor, and replaced the generator poles. The control room wascompletely redesigned and theexisting vibration monitoring system
replaced with a modern diagnosis
system.
The Koepchen plant is a very important peak load power plant for RWE
Power, which is why availability
and functionality are top priorities.
That is why a decision was reached30

in favor of the HyCon 400 system,
which was specially developed forthe requirements of large hydroelectric power plants and particularly of pump turbines. In Koepchen
it was implemented fully redundantly.
The challenge of this project wasan extremely short period of only
four months for the entire overhaul.
In addition, a large number ofinterfaces had to be coordinatedbecause, simultaneously, the upper

reservoir was refurbished and thestarting converter renewed. Work
was also planned for the pumpturbine. This resulted in a record
performance for the shortest periodof time, and was only possible due
to careful planning and very close
coordination with the customer.
As a peak load power plant, themachine is subjected to extremeload changes. This makes reliablevibration monitoring and sophisticated diagnostic procedures

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerGERMANY

especially important. These areseamlessly integrated into themechanical protection system andmake reliable shutdown in the eventof deviating vibration behavior
possible.
The limit values set depend upon
the type of operation and the operating point of the machine. Sensible
monitoring of pump-turbines forwhich – depending upon the operation mode and the operating point –extreme differences in vibration
behavior are perfectly normal, canonly be ensured in this way, whileat the same time false shutdowns
are avoided.
In the Herdecke pumped storage
plant, transient operation is now
just as consistently monitored asstationary operation. It is now also
possible to analyze and diagnose
slow and longer term trends invibration behavior. Especially whena machine is involved whosemonitoring

analysis

diagnosis

air gap

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerThe real highlight: The fluctuation
experts at Voith Hydro can support
and consult with RWE Power from
Heidenheim with specially secured
remote access. That is alreadyproved itself in the initial operation
phase following the overhaul, when
the adjustment of a bearing was
optimized while vibrations had to be
simultaneously reduced. Throughthe service agreement, the experts
from Voith Hydro evaluate the condition of the machinery regularly
and can thus recommend necessary maintenance measures.
Patience and experience in analysis
is in demand: The characteristic
values of the plant in some cases
react so sensitively that normal
annual fluctuations in the trends areclearly visible and can easily lead tofalse interpretations.

AuthorDr. Eberhard Kopf
Head of R & D Automation
Heidenheim, Germany

vibrationmechanicalprotection

availability is of the utmost priority,
early recognition of arising errors isof particular importance.

Eberhard.Kopf@voith.com
 data acquisition
 characteristic
values archive storage
 limit value
monitoring visualization

 data evaluation
 machine
condition
 fault patternrecognition
 automateddiagnosis
 fault probabilities

31

SWEDEN

Start of assembly during
Swedish Midsummer Night
Four truck convoys with special freight arrived in Ligga in northern Sweden on June 23, 2009. They were loaded with 150 tonsof cargo, namely the main components for the new turbines withnearly 200 MW.

The Ligga hydro power plant islocated about 40 kilometers northof the Arctic Circle and started
operation with the first expansion
phase between 1951 and 1954.
In November 2006, the operator,
Vattenfall Vattenkraft, awarded
Voith Hydro the contract for thedelivery of a new Kaplan runner forthe power plant on the river Lule
Älv. There were several technological challenges to be managed.
With a rated output of 196 MW,
the five-blade Kaplan runner is oneof the best performing of its kindand has a diameter of 7.5 meters.
In addition, the efficiency of the32

machine had to be proven by amodel test in the Vattenfall researchlaboratory.
The mounting of the blade pins also
required a sophisticated solution: In
the interests of environmental protection, they rest on special oil-freeelements that eliminate the dangerof oil leakage.
The present assembly work also
includes the rehabilitation of otherturbine components. Together
with the assembly partner at site,
Vattenfall Service Nordic, the turbine shaft, for example, was also
overhauled.

The date is set for the end of
October 2009, when the newmachine in the Ligga power plant
will generate electricity for the
first time.

AuthorBernhard Riederer
Deputy Director
Project Management
Heidenheim, Germany
Bernhard.Riederer@voith.com

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerRUSSIA

From August 2010 on, Uglich’s unit
number two will feed power into thegrid again.

Uglich – doubled capacity
after rehabilitation
A significant project provided the stage for a significant milestone in Voith Hydro St. Pölten’s history: The Austrian unit manufactured the biggest Kaplan runner in its history this summer.

At nine meters in diameter andweighing 220 tons, it is the biggest
Kaplan runner to be manufactured
in St. Pölten so far. And it is among
the largest of Voith Hydro’s worldwide, too.

Things got really exciting in the
middle of July for the workshop
assembly team in St. Pölten.
The Kaplan runner for the Uglichhydro power plant was readyfor final approval by the customer
RusHydro.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower

Voith Hydro received the award
for Uglich in April 2007. The scopeof supply included the replacementof unit two’s hydraulic machine,
the generator and the delivery of
automation and balance of plant
equipment.

Uglich was the first hydro power
station at the Volga-Kama cascadesituated in Russia’s Jaroslawl
region. Its existing turbine has been
in service since 1940 and, in theend, could only be operated at a
capacity of 35 MW. After the renovation the runner will be able tooperate at its full capacity of 70 MW
again.

AuthorAlexandra Cahak
Administrative Services
St. Pölten, Austria

Alexandra.Cahak@voith.com

33

NEWS

Voith Hydro
in Montenegro

New award
at the Rhine Falls

Strenghtened presence

Modernization of ain south-eastern Europe

60 year-old power plant

At the opening ceremony in Podgorica.

Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen.

Voith Hydro this year inaugurated a
new office in Podgorica, Montenegro. The opening was attended byboth representatives of industry andpublic administration.
“Voith Hydro is an established fullline supplier for hydro power plant
equipment in all major markets in
Europe, South America, Asia, Australia and the United States. With
our new office in Podgorica we are
now present in the region of southeastern Europe and suitably close
to our customers and markets
here”, said Dr. Leopold Heninger,
Board Member of Voith Hydro
Austria, during the inauguration
ceremony.
The inauguration took place under
the patronage of Austria’s ambassador Florian Raunig and Montenegro’s Minister for Economic Development, Branimir Gvozdenovic.

34

In his speech, the Minister emphasized the importance of the close
connection between technical knowhow and proximity to customers,
now assured with the new office inPodgorica.
In addition to supplying Montenegro, the new Podgorica office will
also serve Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Serbia, Kosovo, and Macedonia.
This location complements theprevious opening of locations in
Eastern Europe such as Bucharest,
Romania. Here, Voith Hydro had
already taken a big step towards
presence in south-eastern
Europe. Voith Hydro is upgrading the nearly
60 year-old Neuhausen hydro power plant located next to the Rhine
Falls for the Rheinkraftwerke Neuhausen AG. The upgrading contains
a new Francis turbine with a diameter of 2.3 meters and the modernization of the related turbine components and control systems. The performance of the hydroelectric power
plant will be improved considerably.
The power plant was built between
1948 and 1951 directly next to thelargest waterfalls in Europe, theRhine Falls. A head of 20.7 meters
caters an annual production ofaround 40 GWh. It supplies thecommunity of Neuhausen acrossthe falls with green power. The unit
is scheduled to go back online inAugust 2011.
The shareholders of the Rheinkraftwerk Neuhausen AG are EnAlpin,
Axpo AG and the community of
Neuhausen. 

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower

NEWS

Richard K. Fisher
retiredCooperation with
Vienna University

A passionate hydro advocate

Voith Hydro Austria supports

for almost 40 years

university research

A new cooperation is forged.

Richard K. Fisher retired from Voith
Hydro after 38 years of service thissummer. He was responsible for the
Research & Development, Turbine
Technology, New Product Development and Technical Marketing
Support. He is well-known for being
active in the development of hydroturbine modernized designs which
are more compatible with environmental considerations than traditional designs.
In the early 1980s, he became
active in the development of understanding of how fish pass throughturbines and how turbines influence
fish, either in their passage, or
through affecting their aquatic
habitat.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower

Being the program manager for oneof the two U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Hydro Turbine System
programs, he and his team led thehydraulic design for modernizing
the Bonneville Kaplan turbines,
which are the prototypes of a generation of new environmentallyfriendly turbine designs.
He was also responsible for leading
the development of aerating turbines which are used to increase
the oxygen content of the water
discharged through the turbine foraquatic enhancement downstreamof the powerhouse.

The Austrian operating unit of Voith
Hydro and the Institute for Thermodynamics and Energy Conversion
from the Faculty of Mechanical andIndustrial Engineering of the Vienna
University of Technology, Austria,
will further strengthen their cooperation.
Both parties signed a contract
about the funding of two research
assistant positions in which basic
research on turbines in jointly
defined research and development
projects will be conducted. 

His successor is Stuart Coulson
who has worked in the hydro powerindustry for 21 years. He joined
Voith Hydro in 2008 as member ofthe Voith Hydro Engineering Company’s International Management
Team. 35

TURKEY

Akköy II – a milestone Pelton projectAt an extraordinary head of 1,220 meters, one of the world’s
highest head Pelton applications will be commissioned byVoith Hydro. It is located in Akköy, in the Black Sea region of
Gümüşhane in northeastern Turkey.

Already in 2005, customer Akköy
Enerji relied on electromechanicalequipment from Voith Hydro andawarded Akköy I, a project withthree Francis turbines with a total
capacity of 103 MW. Akköy Enerji
is a private Turkish investor acting
as an independent power producer.
All units of Akköy I are now undercommercial operation making it
the first hydro project of this sizein the country’s liberalized energy
market.
Akköy II will be built adjacent to
Akköy I. Although Akköy I and II are
located next to each other, they aresupplied from different sources.

The three 31 MW Francis units of
Akköy I use the water of the Harsit
river whereas the Akköy II-plant,
equipped with two Pelton units,
will be fed by the water of the threerivers Karaovacık, Gelevera andGavraz.
The waterway is characterized bya system of two dams, a regulator,
long tunnels and a penstock tobring the water to the power house.
The highly efficient turbines will
have a rated capacity of 117 MW
each and will rotate at 750 rpm.

The units are scheduled to be commissioned by March and May 2011
respectively.
Akköy I and II are supplied by thesame consortium led by Voith
Hydro. Voith Hydro’s operating unit
in St. Pölten, Austria, leads theconsortium and is responsible forthe design and manufacturing of
the generators and turbines as well
as for the control and protection
system. The Turkish operating unit
is responsible for the local manufacture and the assembly of theequipment. Siemens Turkey is thethird member of the consortium andprovides the electrical balance ofplant equipment as well as the unittransformers and the high voltage
switchyard.

AuthorEmre Ilkin
Sales Manager
Ankara, Turkey

Emre.Ilkin@voith.com

36

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerBRAZIL

Good progress for Brazilian
Estreito and Baguari projects
A crucial stage began with the start of the installations for the firstrunner of Voith Hydro’s Estreito project in the beginning of September.

Estreito is considered to be oneof Brazil’s key hydro projects: It is
one of the country’s biggest investments in hydro power today and it
will operate the largest Kaplan turbines ever manufactured in Brazil.
Each of the eight 138.6 MW runners
has an impressive diameter of
9.5 meters.
The first unit is scheduled to feed
power into the grid for the first timein October 2010. Full operation isplanned 14 months later, mid 2011,
with one unit going online every
two months.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower

Voith Hydro took a new approach
regarding Estreito’s stay rings andwicket gates. In order to combine
high functionality and competitive
costs, the stay rings were subject
to several structural analyses investigating the metallic structure’s
interaction with the concrete under
different load regimes. The new
design for the wicket gates focuseson the combination of stainlessand carbon steel welding with very
good results in terms of quality.
For Voith Hydro S ão Paulo, theproject Baguari represents the first
bulb machine completely manufactured in Brazil. The first unit isalready synchronized to the grid –three months ahead of schedule.
And again, the company is working
an ambitious schedule for the otherthree machines to be delivered by
the end of January 2010.

“Both Baguari and Estreito belong
to the greatest challenges we have
faced so far”, says Osvaldo San
Martin, Chairman of the Board ofMangement of Voith Hydro’s Brazilian unit: “But I am confident they
will be a great success, too. These
projects show: We are able to meetchallenges like these, not only insize but also in terms of design andmanufacture of innovative machines
in demanding time frames.”
Both projects are part of PAC, theGrowth Acceleration Program of theBrazilian Government.

AuthorRenata Presta
Communications CoordinatorSão Paulo, Brazil

Renata.Presta@voith.com

37

CHINA

Important milestones
for Chinese projects
Voith Hydro Shanghai has seen several important milestones
for different projects over the last months. It started with La Xi Wa,
the largest project on the Yellow River with five units with a total
capacity of 4,200 MW.

The La Xi Wa project plays an important role in the Chinese National
Hydro Power Development Program. After around four years ofdesign and manufacture, the firsttwo units were successfully synchronized to the grid in April. Units
number three and four will follow
until November.
With the completed manufacture of
the equipment for La Xi Wa anothermilestone was reached end of
August contributing to an earlycompletion of the plant.

Aage Dalsjoe, President of Voith
Hydro Shanghai, was happy to see
the last unit ready for delivery:“From early 2002 on, we started
pursuing this project. The contract
was signed in August 2004, andnow, five years later, we are here
to celebrate the completion of theequipment manufacture. We allknow about the challenges of thisproject with its tight construction
and delivery schedule plus longshipping distances. Effective teamwork over this long period madethis possible.”

Another hydro power plant started
operation in late September:
Xiaowan on the Langcang River.
Voith Hydro delivered three Francis
units with an output of 714 MW
each. Xiaowan is scheduled to becompleted in 2011. Half of its electricity output will be transmitted toGuangdong Province; the rest will
be consumed locally.

AuthorCustomer Huanghe Hydropower
Development joined the celebrationand gave the company high praise
also. La Xi Wa is the third project
within Voith Hydro Shanghai ranging in the 700 MW capacity level.

38

Clare Chen
Communications Coordinator
Shanghai, China

Clare.Chen@voith.com

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerOCEAN ENERGIESA new company
for ocean current technology

Prof. Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt, Chairman of the Board of RWE Innogy,
and Dr. Hubert Lienhard, CEOof Voith AG, signed the contract
for the joint venture.

With the approval of the regulating authorities in Brussels, Voith
Hydro and RWE Innogy have created a new company, Voith Hydro
Ocean Current Technology, with Voith Hydro holding 80 percentof the shares.

The new company’s goal is toenhance technological development, installation and maintenancesolutions for ocean current turbines.
The total investment guaranteedby both partners over the next
few years exceeds over 30 million
Euros. This investment clearlyshows the conviction of the companies that renewable energies fromthe oceans will have a considerable
share within the energy mix of the
future.
“As it always is the case with newtechnologies, the first thing to do is
to make them competitive as quickly
as possible. In our opinion, the only
way to succeed is through a very
close cooperation between thetechnology developer and the future
plant operator in order to consider

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerthe needs of all parties. The collaboration with RWE Innogy therefore
does not only provide venture
capital support but also the required
close interaction between the involved parties”, explained Dr. Jochen
Weilepp, Managing Director of Voith
Hydro Ocean Current Technology.
Voith Hydro has been working on
ocean current technologies since2005. Due to the harsh marine
environment the company’s experts
pursue the goal of making the
product as robust as possible toreduce servicing needs. The design
therefore has no gearbox or rotor
blade adjustments. It is especially
ecofriendly due to the absence of oil
and grease.

The first prototype was manufactured at the company’s headquarters in Heidenheim, Germany,and is now on its way to the testsite off the South Korean coast.
It will be deployed this winter andwill be tested thoroughly.
Later, this initial test plant will bepart of a large power station projectthat will generate electricity fromocean currents with a rated powerof several hundred megawatts.
Further plants in Europe will follow.

AuthorMarie-Luise Leonhardt
Communications Coordinator
Heidenheim, Germany

Marie-Luise.Leonhardt@voith.com

39

SUSTAINABILITY

Big steps for hydro power
sustainability in 2009
The IHA World Congress on Sustainability in Reykjavik, Iceland, inJune impressively showed how theawareness for sustainability inhydro power has grown in the last
few years, not only in the industry
but also across sector borders.
Many players are now involved in
the development of a standard thatmight be applied worldwide to allhydro power planning and implementation.

Facilitator Helen Locher, Hydropower Sustainability
Assessment Forum Coordinator, IHA, David Harrison,
Nature Conservancy, and Kirsten Nyman, GTZ.

40

The conference was an unparalleled networking event for all stakeholders. Views of all kinds in thecontext of policy, markets andfinance were given to a most interested audience.
The draft of the newly developed
Hydro Sustainability Assessment
Protocol was meanwhile published
for a trial phase that is designed tocover all types of projects worldwide, from planning to operation.

Panelists addressing the congress.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerSUSTAINABILITY

Ólafur Grímsson,
President of Iceland,addressed the crowd
at the closing dinner.

Voith Hydro’s sustainability workshop
in Brazil.

“This was a very encouraging event,which showed the industy’s interest
at a crucial time in the developmentof the Protocol. We are looking forward to interacting with many hydropower companies and other interested stakeholders over the next
few months in order to make theProtocol a practical, broadly accepted tool”, says Dr. Helen Locher,the coordinator of the IHA Hydro
Assessment Sustainability Forum(HSAF).

Internal capacity building

Rollout events in many regions willtake place through November 2009.

In such a workshop in Brazil in April
2009, participants of sales departments of Voith Hydro could learn
how to apply sustainability aspects
to hydro power stations according
to the IHA Sustainability Assessment Protocol.

For further information
please contact Helen Locher
at hl@hydropower.org.

at Voith Hydro

Special focus of Voith Hydro andother players in the development ofsustainability in hydro power plants
lies on the performance measurement against criteria. Capacity
and awareness-building are key
to successful implementation ofstandards one day. So, Voith Hydro
has implemented intense internal
workshops to educate its staff.

Aside from the presentation ofgeneral definitions of sustainability
and its development over the last
30 years in political frameworks
and societies around the world,a hands-on exercise let participants
experience how to do an assessment of performance and apply
ratings with impressive results andfindings. Voith Hydro was again
helped with the contributions andchallenges from the World Wide
Fund for Nature (WWF).

AuthorBarbara Fischer-Aupperle
Head of Communications,
Heidenheim, Germany

Barbara.Fischer-Aupperle@voith.com

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower41

ESSAY

Water –
a question of living standards
in the ancient world

42

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerESSAYA sophisticated system supplied ancient Pompeiiwith water. It involved the interplay of public wells,
private fountains and pipelines, as well as technicalappliances for the distribution of the water, which
was diverted to the city from a great distance.

The eruption of Vesuvius on August24, 79 A.D. destroyed Pompeii, but
at the same time it preserved thecity, leaving technical systems forthe water supply to a great extent
preserved even to the present day.
Pompeii’s water supply system wasprimarily based on the collection
and storage of rain water. Abovethe characteristic roofs of the Italic
atrium or peristyle structures (seebox on page 45), the captured rainwater flowed into cisterns, whichwere principally found under every
residential building, as well as in or
under public buildings and plazas.
Even after the construction of thegreat distance aqueducts in the
1st century B.C., nearly all cisterns
remained in use. This was because,in addition to water storage, people
did not want to dispense with theeffect that the rain falling into theso-called impluvium (see box onpage 45) provided namely thecooling of the central rooms of thehouse.

Very early on there were wells witha depth of approximately 40 meters.
However, because their water wasof poor quality, they were completely abandoned and later saw theconstruction of the long distanceaqueduct.
Long distance water supply
systems even 2,000 years ago

Two long distance aqueducts
ensured the water supply. An older
system led from the approximately
30 kilometer distance from Avella
to Pompeii. However, the water
resources it provided fluctuatedgreatly depending upon the season.
About 50 years later, in the ageof Augustus, which is dated from
27 B.C. to 14 A.D., a nearly 100 kilometer long aqueduct system wasbuilt, originating from a spring area
near the city of Serino and extending to the Bay of Naples. Its main
purpose was to supply a fleet,stationed in Misenum by imperator
Augustus, with water.

Water flowing into the impluvium
cooled the main rooms of the house(reconstruction).

The new system was mergedwith the existing one to the northof Pompeii. However, Pompeii
was only one of many cities to besupplied by this aqueduct.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPower43

ESSAYAs a consequence, the city was
only allowed a contingent of water
appropriate for its size. This wasconsiderably less than the peakwater volume of Avella, which madethe considered management ofwater resources necessary.
However, there was also one decisive advantage: For the first time,
Pompeii now had fresh, cool water
throughout the whole year. This,
among other things, resulted in44

a significant increase in the numberof hydrotechnology installations inhouses and gardens. The inhabitants of Pompeii now afforded themselves a kind of ancient air conditioning: They installed fountains
into the impluvia and could thus
artificially cause the cooling effectbrought about by the evaporation
chill as they wished. This cooling
effect was previously only present
when it rained, which was extremely seldom, especially in summer.

Distribution of waterin the city

While Pompeii was still suppliedwith water exclusively from the
Avella system, the water flowedfrom the aqueduct into a round,shallow and open basin foundat a prominent plaza in the city.
A closeable castellum was later
built over the basin to prevent
misuse of the regulating andOctober 2009 I 19 I HyPowerESSAY

distribution fixtures in the basin,
which had been installed in thecourse of renovations.
These renovations ensured thatthe water was divided three ways.
A weir and regulating plate made oflead distributed the water, precisely
dispensed, to three outlet pipes
leading to various city districts.
Despite the long distance watersupply, the traditional water supply
involving the collection and storageof rainwater was maintained.
The inhabitants of Pompeii had
lived with this system for centuries
and it seems apparent that theamount of water was principally
adequate.

The site of ancient
Pompeii overlooked
by Vesuvius.

The quality of life of the residents ofPompeii clearly increased with theconstant availability of water throughthis sophisticated delivery systemof aqueducts and resource management: Even at that time, summer
in Italy was hot, and anything that
could provide cooling was much indemand. 

The course of the ancient aqueducts.

Glossary
An atrium building has a central room
open to the sky, the atrium. Because thelight finds its way into the rooms throughthis opening in the roof, the outside of thehouse requires no windows.
A shallow water basin, the impluvium(Latin: in – into, down from; pluvia – rain),is found in the middle of the atrium. It collects rainwater that falls from the roof andcools the room. The water is collected ina cistern beneath the impluvium.
Since 200 years B.C., the Roman atrium
house was often expanded by a peristyle,an inner courtyard surrounded by pillared
walkways (Greek: peri – around; stylos –column). The peristyle is often designed
as a flower garden.

Further information
This article is based on an article by
Dr. Christoph Ohlig. It appeared first in themagazine “ANTIKE WELT. Zeitschrift fürArchäologie und Kulturgeschichte” 2/2009,
pages 17 – 24, by publishing house Philipp
von Zabern. The magazine is available inGerman only.

Pompeii’s water castellum.

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6XZggVZ

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EVabV
CZVeda^h

8jbVZ
EjiZda^7V^VZ
B^hZcjb

6kZaaV
VfjZYjXi

KZhjk^jh=ZgXjaVcZjb

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerHVgcjhEdbeZ^^

HZg^cdVfjZYjXi

45

NEWS FROM THE VOITH GROUP

Hermes Award
for Voith Turbo
Voith WinDrive winsinternational technology prize

All actors dream to win an Oscar
one day, while industrial designers
hope to win the Hermes Award.
The international technology prizeof the Hannover Fair is awarded
annually at the world’s largest
industrial exhibition.
This year, the jury nominated fivecompanies out of over 70 applications. They finally picked Voith
Turbo for the “Oscar of Engineers”
and awarded the 100,000 Europrize to the WinDrive.
The WinDrive was developed inbackground of a continuously
increasing utilization of renewableenergy. For power grid operation,
the variable rotor speed of windturbines has to be converted into
a constant generator speed.

46

Voith Paper
With the WinDrive, Voith TurboWind is the first company to realize
the highly dynamic variable transmission in the driveline of a windturbine without using frequency
inverters. “This year’s award-winning innovation ensures that there
is a fresh wind blowing on the
rapidly increasing wind energy market”, explained Prof. Dr. Wolfgang
Wahlstätter as the jury’s motivation
to choose Voith Turbo Wind.
In her laudatory speech, Germany’s
Federal Minister for Education andResearch, Dr. Annette Schavan,
underlined: “The project comes at
the right time and covers the right
topic. It is interdisciplinary andhighly innovative, while its operation
is easy to understand. It aims at
a growth market and can alreadybe seen in practical operation.
It thus ideally embodies all of theobjectives formulated by the hightech strategy goals of the Federal
Government.” Voith Paper helps paper andboard mill Varel to save energy

Between September 2007 and July
2008, Voith Paper rebuilt paper
machine 4 of the paper and board
mill Varel, Germany, in order to saveenergy, to enhance operationalsafety and thus increase the efficiency of the machine.
Today, the success of this rebuild
project proves its initiators right.
The steam consumption of themachine is reduced by about
10 percent. The operational safety
is increased due to a reliable condensate removal. At the same time,
the required drive power and thenumber of sheet breaks declined.
The rebuild comprised the exchangeof all 51 steam joints with rotating
siphons for new Vplus Steam Joints
with stationary siphons and theadaptation of the steam and condensate system. The low differential
pressure of 0.15 bar reduced thevelocity of the steam-condensate
mix in the condensate pipe and thus
wear in the piping.

October 2009 I 19 I HyPowerNEWS FROM THE VOITH GROUP

Voith Industrial
Services
The CD moisture profile was also
positively influenced.

Eastern European Markets:
Voith Industrial Services Wind
offers optimum customer

A special challenge in project
management was the narrow time
corridor: As part of the rebuild,
Voith Paper carried out the complete installation in each case within
only 48 and 72 hours respectively.
Initial problems with vibrations
were immediately solved. A vibration damper of the siphon wasdeveloped in this course – it has
meanwhile been registered as apatent by Voith Paper. The payback
time of the entire rebuild amounted
to less than one year. October 2009 I 19 I HyPower

proximity

The Polish wind energy market has
seen excellent growth over the last
few years. As a result of this development, service and maintenancerequirements have also increased.
Germany-based Voith Industrial
Services Wind can now rely on ateam of local service techniciansin Poland.

The Wind business unit of Voith
Industrial Services thus extended
its specialized service range to thePolish unit by now providing thiswide range of services to its local
customers. With this addition,
service offers cover the entire life
cycle of the plant and include
assembly, operation, maintenance,
modernization, disassembly andreassembly. 

Employees of Hörmann Serwis
Polska – the Polish branch of
Hörmann Industrietechnik and fully
owned by Voith Industrial Services– for this purpose underwent specialized maintenance and service
training. The training comprised
theoretical introduction to windenergy, through hands-on training
at wind power stations and a second phase of intense on-the-job
training.

47

EVENTS

Conferences, seminars and symposia
Date

Event / Further information

November 3 - 4, 2009

Forum on Hydropower 2009

Ottawa, Canada

www.canhydropower.org

November 10 - 12, 2009acqua alta

Hamburg, Germany

www.hamburg-messe.de/acquaalta
Paper presentation by Voith Hydro

November 16 - 17, 2009

EREC

Brussels, Belgium

www.erec.org

November 17 - 18, 2009

3rd Tidal Energy Summit

London, UK

www.tidaltoday.com/ITES/
Paper presentation by Voith Hydro

November 22 - 25, 2009

XX. SNPTEE

Recife, Brazil

Seminário Nacional de Produção e Transmissão de Energia Elétrica
www.xxsnptee.com.br/

March 29 - 30, 2010

ASIA 2010 – International Conference & Exhibition on Water

Sarawak, Malaysia

Resources and Renewable Energy

www.hydropower-dams.com
Booth and paper presentation by Voith Hydro
March 24 - 26, 2010

HydroVision Russia 2010

Moscow, Russia

www.hydroevent.com

June 16 - 19, 2010

Hidroenergia 2010

Lausanne, Switzerland

www.esha.be/index.php?id=117

July 26 - 30, 2010

HydroVision 2010

Charlotte, USA

www.hydroevent.com

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EVENTS

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Imprint
Published by:Voith Hydro Holding GmbH & Co. KG
A Voith and Siemens Company

Editor:Barbara Fischer-Aupperle
Editorial coordination:
Marie-Luise Leonhardt
Voith Hydro Holding GmbH & Co. KG
Alexanderstr. 1189522 Heidenheim, Germany
Fon +49 7321 37- 63 54
Fax +49 7321 37-78 28
Marie-Luise.Leonhardt@voith.com
www.voithhydro.com
In cooperation with:
Manfred Schindler
Werbeagentur OHG, Aalen, Germany
Monika Etspüler
Picture credits: EnBW pages 4, 6, 9;
Historisches Konzernarchiv RWE page 12;
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration) pages 1, 14, 49

8000

Copyright:
No part of this publication may be copied,
reproduced or otherwise disseminatednor may any of the content in it be usedin part or in whole in other works in any
form whatsoever, without express written
permission of the editor.

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