Hypower Special Issue Three Gorges, China - Voith Hydro

Special issue on the commissioning of the first units
of Three Gorges Hydropower Project in China
HyPower
Customers magazine for Voith Siemens Hydro
August 2003

Hypower Special Issue Three Gorges, China
Congratulations to China Yangtze Three
on the commissioning
A long anticipated moment happened on June 24, 2003: The first unit of
the world's largest hydropower station was synchronized in the heart of the
15 square kilometer site. For the first time, electricity was generated and
fed into the public grid. This was the first of six units to be provided
through the VGS consortium, which consists of Voith Siemens Hydro Power
Generation and GE Hydro, Canada.
Commissioning impressions:
Cheering in front of the generator
after 72 hours test operation
of unit 2.
Chinese and foreign experts
preparing for the first
synchronization.

Gorges Project Development Corporation
of the first units
Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation
is especially proud of being the first
to hand over one of these gigantic
units to China Yangtze Three Gorges
Project Development Corporation.
This unit completed 72 hours commissioning
operation on July 7 followed
by 30 days of successful test
operation. At the current reservoir
level of 135 m the maximum generator
output reaches 550 MW.
The second VGS unit has also finished
the 72 hours commissioning
operation in the same reliable and
successful manner as the first one
and has now entered the 30 days
test operation phase.
The end of the 30 day test operation
also marks the hand-over for commercial
operation to China Yangtze
Three Gorges Project Development
Corporation. All tests carried out
during this phase were done with
excellent results and highest customer
satisfaction.
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Hypower Special Issue Three Gorges, China
Unit data
Rated head 80.6 m
Maximum head 113 m
Minimum head 61 m
Rated flow 996 m 3/s
Rated power 700 MW
Max. capacity 840 MVA
Rated speed 75 rpm
Rated frequency 50 Hz
Rated voltage 20 kV
Power factor 0.9
Year of order 1997
Runner diameter 10 m
Runner weight 420 tons
First runner manufactured
by Voith Siemens Hydro
Shanghai
Since project inception, the hydraulic
and mechanical design of the
turbines was a number one priority
for the company’s Research and
Development Team. The turbines are
larger than those supplied for Itaipu
in both size and weight, so welding
and sourcing requirements had to
be redefined to a new level of the
state-of-the-art. The unparalleled
experience of Voith Siemens Hydro
in large Francis turbines, in combination
with air- or water-cooled
generators provided an excellent
technology base for this new design.
The hydraulic performance, proven
in witness tests of the turbine model
in 1998, was an important milestone
for the Corporate Technology Center
in Heidenheim’s “Brunnenmühle”.

Velocity
high
Stator frame delivery ceremony in Shanghai Historic event in Brazil Rotor lowering at site
Excitation: additional award
Following the award for turbines and
generators was a separate contract in
2000 for Voith Siemens Hydro to
supply the excitation systems for all
14 units of the left bank powerstation.
low low
Pressure
high
International engineering and
manufacturing alliance
Voith Siemens Hydro Heidenheim, Germany
has the project lead and also carried
out the model tests for the turbines.
Voith Siemens Hydro Shanghai, China
manufactured two 420 ton runners and
other key turbine and generator components.Voith
Siemens Hydro São Paulo,
Brazil supplied castings for the turbine
runner blades and major generator components,
including four stator windings,
two stator cores, a frame, two generator
rotors and auxiliary systems.
The acknowledgement of the contribution
from Voith Siemens Hydro’s
Brazilian facilities was showcased
when former Brazilian President,
Henrique Cardozo, presented a photo
of the first generator stator frame
manufactured in São Paulo with all the
employees gathered inside, to former
China’s President, Jiang Ze Min, during
his state visit to Brazil.
Three Gorges model test
in Heidenheim, Germany.
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Hypower Special Issue Three Gorges, China
Next stage: Three Gorges II
While design and engineering within
the international alliance still requires
enormous logistical effort from all
Voith Siemens Hydro locations
involved in this project, top level
executives and project managers in
the company’s Chinese and German
locations are already planning for the
future. Bid preparation for the right
bank powerstation of Three Gorges
is in full swing. On the basis of the
excellent design and performance from
the machines in Stage I, as well as
the close customer relationship developed
during this phase, Voith Siemens
Hydro is confident to be able to continue
its support to the China Yangtze
Three Gorges Project Development
Corporation with solutions and stateof-the-art
equipment for the largest
power project ever built in China.
Facts and figures
The project is located in the Chinese
province of Hubei, upstream from the
city of Yichang. Project cost is estimated
at 25 billion US Dollars.
Main project objectives are flood
control, power generation and
improvement of navigation on the
Yangtze River.
Flood control will be achievable by
controlling water flows in the summer
season and providing controlled
water discharge to the central and
lower Yangtze regions. Thus an area
of 1.6 million hectares, inhabited
by 15 million people is protected.
Historically, floods have killed thousands
of people and made millions
homeless at almost regular 10-year
intervals.
Three Gorges site at night
During the 1998 flood, the cost of
providing emergency protection for
the city of Wuhan, other downstream
cities and areas of cultivated land,
combined with the cost of clearing
up flood damage was comparable to
the capital cost of the dam.
The plant will provide electric energy
mainly to Central and Eastern China,
regions that enjoy strong economic
growth. Also, the province of Sichuan
will get a share of the plant’s total
output of 18,200 MW.
The project will generate 84.7 TWh
annually, replacing about 50 million
tons of raw coal burned in thermal
plants. This will save 100 million
tons of CO2, two million tons of SO2, 10,000 tons of CO, and 370,000 tons
of NOx emissions.

Three Gorges dam under construction Artist view of the Three Gorges dam
Ship navigation will be improved,
making it possible for a 10,000 ton
barge (compared to currently 3,000
tons) to sail upstream directly to the
harbors of Chongqing.
Embedding the spiral case
This will increase annual river transportation
from 10 million tons to
50 million tons, reduce transport
costs by one third and result in significant
improvements for the economic
infrastructure of the inland provinces.
New sources of food by the introduction
of fish farming and aquaculture
in the new reservoir have been part
of the development plan since its
beginning. A better supply of irrigation
water to the newly developed
farmland will also be achieved.
The Chinese authorities plan to construct
146 sewage treatment plants
along the river to reduce current
industrial and residential pollution
into the Yangtze.
History
The first concepts for the gigantic
project were initially developed by
Dr. Sun Yat-sen at the beginning of
the 20th century.
The construction time from the site
preparation to the final commissioning
of the 26th unit in 2009 stretches
over 17 years.
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Voith Siemens Hydro
Power Generation GmbH & Co. KG
Alexanderstraße 11
89522 Heidenheim/Germany
Tel. +49 7321 37 68 48
Fax +49 7321 37 78 28
www.voithsiemens.com
Editorial coordination:
Barbara Fischer-Aupperle
Copyright 2003
Reproduction permitted,
provided source is given.
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