Alstom, as part of an EPC consortium with Camargo Correa and CNEC Worley Parsons, announced the start-up of the first 214-MW unit of the Foz do Chapeco hydropower plant in Brazil.
The hydropower plant, located on the Uruguay River between the cities of Aguas do Chapeco and Alpestre, began commercial operation on Oct. 11.
The project began in March 2007 with the signing of a contract for the production, delivery and assembly supervision of the plant's four 213.75 MW generator units. Alstom is responsible for all plant equipment, including turbines, generators, hydromechanical equipment, transformers, voltage elevators, plant control and protection systems and all auxiliary mechanical and electrical systems.
When completed in February 2011, the plant will have an installed capacity of 855 MW and, on average, 432 MW of assured energy – enough to supply 25 percent of all power needs in the state of Santa Catarina or around 18 percent in Rio Grande do Sul. The plant features the third-largest Francis turbine in Brazil in terms of size (after Itaipu and Tucurui).
In other news, Alstom subsidiary Alstom Projects India Limited has won a contract worth about Rs 550 million (US$12 million) from developer Lanco Infratech Limited to equip a new hydropower plant in India's northern region.
The 76-MW Phatabyung hydro project will be set up in the Uttarakhand region on the bank of Mandakini River.
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