Europe

Voith awarded contract to supply two turbine-generator units for Macedonia small hydro plant

Voith has won an order for the manufacture, supply and commissioning of two StreamDiver turbine-generator units for the small hydropower plant Gradiste in Macedonia.
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Voith has won an order for the manufacture, supply and commissioning of two StreamDiver turbine-generator units for the small hydropower plant Gradiste in Macedonia.

According to a press release from Voith, the plant is one of 12 facilities being planned for the Vardar River, and it is intended to increase the hydropower share within Macedonia’s total energy mix. The total generating capacity of the facility was not released.

Voith also will supervise installation and supply the gate valves.

The power plant is set to go into operation early in 2020 and will supply clean power to up to 900 households in the Jegunovce region north of the Macedonian capital Skopje.

Bart Energy DOO Skopje owns the plant.

The centerpiece of the StreamDiver technology is the turbine-generator unit with a permanent magnet generator built into an oil-free bulb housing that is available in a range of 50 kW to 800 kW. Voith says the unit can be completely submerged, so it can operate independently regardless of any existing structures. It can also be integrated into existing power plants, facilitating economic upgrades and keeping investment costs to a minimum.

“The StreamDiver turbine-generator unit is ideal for the new power plant location,” explains Besfort Aliti, owner and managing director of Bart Energy DOO Skopje. “Compared with a conventional vertical Kaplan turbine that would normally have been used, we are gaining significant benefits in respect of delivery time and on-site implementation.” For example, Voith says construction time is reduced by 60% and there are substantial savings in construction costs, due among other things to a reduced concrete requirement.

Voith Hydro is part of the Voith Group and a supplier of equipment for hydropower plants.

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