2009-07-29 - ABB is supplying a complete power and automation solution that will help double the capacity of an underground hydropower plant in a remote area of the Peruvian Andes and provide local communities with a reliable supply of vital renewable energy.
The integrated instrumentation, control and electrical (iICE) solution is part of a complete hydroelectric power generation package that ABB and strategic partner Harbin Electric Machinery of China are supplying to boost the capacity of the Machu Picchu hydropower plant in Peru.
ABB’s complete water-to-wire iICE solution includes all the instrumentation, control and electrical products and systems in the powerhouse as well as connection via a 138 kV gas insulated substation to the power grid.
ABB’s ability to supply the full scope of power plant iICE equipment and integrate the entire solution with a single interface brings numerous benefits to both EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractors and plant owners.
ABB integrated ICE solutions have a proven track record in reducing project completion times, lowering costs and managing risk. Now ABB controls, instruments and electronics will help double the output of a hydroelectric plant deep in the Andes mountains of Peru. The switchyard of the Machu Picchu hydropower plant is pictured above.
Those benefits include significantly reduced cabling and connections (made possible by a unique fieldbus solution), faster project completion times, lower costs, reduced exposure to risk, and the elimination of complex multi-vendor interfaces and site activity.
Located 1,800 meters above sea level in a remote area of the Andes mountains, the Machu Picchu hydropower plant provides local communities with vital electrical energy to power their homes, businesses, public utilities and infrastructure.
The 100-megawatt turnkey solution will more than double the plant’s present generating capacity of 90 MW and benefit the region and the environment in a number of ways.
It will provide consumers with a reliable supply of electricity free from voltage fluctuations and power cuts, and will minimize the risk of landslides and flooding by regulating the flow of the Vilcanota river (the plant was buried by a landslide in 1998).
ABB and Harbin Electric Machinery were awarded the contract by Peru-based EPC Grana y Montero. The end customer and power plant owner is the state-owned utility EGEMSA.
ABB has been supplying the hydropower industry for around 100 years and has a huge installed base including record-breaking installations at the world’s three largest hydropower projects: the Three Gorges in China, Itaipu on the Brazil-Paraguay border, and Guri in Venezuela.
