National Hydro-electric
Power Corporation has
received three spinning
machines from Alstom for
its Chamera III hydro project at
Chamba district in Himachal
Pradesh. The project passed an
important commissioning test
on March 5, when all three
77MW Francis vertical turbines
being installed by Alstom successfully
completed the spinning
at the rated speed of
333rpm in less than ten hours.
The test marks an important
stage in the Chamera III project,
where Alstom is delivering the
units on a turnkey basis from its
Vadodara Hydro site. The project
is expected to be fully commissioned
in the coming weeks.
Alstom was awarded the Chamera
III HEP contract by NHPC in
2007. The scope of work included
turnkey execution of Electro-
Mechanical lot comprising of
hydro turbines, generators and
auxiliaries. Alstom's Hydro unit
based in Vadodara has executed
the works for the project.
So far, Alstom's Hydro facility in
Vadodara has supplied major
hydro power generation equipment
for a total installed capacity
of 4 GW for various projects in
India and abroad. With the company's
expanded production
capabilities, Alstom's Hydro
manufacturing unit in Vadodara
expects to ramp up exports to
more than 30 per cent annually to
markets all over the world. This
move follows an investment completed
last year to build Alstom's
most advanced bearing production
facility. So far two-third of
the factory's existing capacity
caters to the India region while
one-third of the capacity caters to
export markets.
Emphasizing the role of Alstom
Hydro India's contribution to the
hydro market in India, Alain
Spohr, Unit Managing Director,
Alstom Hydro India, said, "The
spinning of all three machines in
record time is a testimony of
the exemplary work and coordination
of the team. We at Alstom
are committed to provide cutting
edge technological expertise and
clean power generation solutions
to our customers and partners
and will continue to do so in the
future as well. The hydro facility
at Vadodara is one of the three
large hydro equipment manufacturing
hubs for Alstom along
with China and Brazil. This factory
is fully geared to meet
the needs of domestic and international
projects."