Italy

The Italian arm of Voith Siemens Hydro has secured a contact from Enel, the Italian utility, for the rehabilitation of a Kaplan turbine at a hydropower plant at Ala, Italy. The plant, which started operation in 1953, has two units, each of 24 MW and operating under a head of 28.3 m. It exploits the flow of the river Adige downstream of Trento, where water is diverted by a weir and carried through a 9244 m pressure tunnel to an underground powerhouse housing the turbines.The contract, valued at E1.2 million, calls for the rehabilitation of all rotating parts of the turbine, including its head and bottom cover. The 4 m diameter runner will be fitted with five new blades in stainless steel and provided with a new hydraulic profile.

The Italian transmission company Terna, part of the Enel group, has awarded ABB an order worth over E18 million to supply two phase-shifting transformers and integrate them into an existing station control system. The transformers will be used to optimise the transmission of energy between France and Italy. Uneven utilisation of power lines within the European network has so far meant that the transmission capacity cannot be fully utilised, ABB claimed. The two units will each have a throughput rating of 1630 MVA at 400 kV. Each units weighs around 780 t.

  EniPower has ordered a gas insulated substation worth E8 million from VA Tech Transmission and Distribution for an 880 MW combined cycle power plant at Ravenna in Italy. The order comprises five 380 kV outdoor bays of switchgear. Delivery time is less than twelve months.