MORE OUTPUT WITH RECORD SETTING EFFICIENCY

Better than before - When it was time to retrofit the hydro generators at the Kaprun hydropower plant in the Austrian Alps near Salzburg, the customer – VERBUND – wanted not only to replace the two generators but to make them even better.

MORE POWER; HIGHER EFFICIENCY

For this upgrade, VERBUND turned to GE who replaced the stator and rotor. The two generators were refurbished simultaneously in only six months. The upgrade increased plant output by 40 MW (a power increase of 30%) with a measured efficiency of an astounding 99.25% which was the highest efficiency ever achieved for a hydro generator of this size.

“We chose GE because they guaranteed the highest efficiency,” said the Project manager from VERBUND. “Not only did GE have the highest guarantees but the measured efficiency even exceeded the guarantees. This and their on time delivery was a winning combination.”

Increasing outputs from existing plants are, arguably, the single most cost-effective means for increasing installed capacity because there is no environmental impact and upgrades are faster and less expensive than building new plants. GE’s upgrade of Kaprun is a perfect example of this.