Powerful generator in Ybbs
The machine replacement programme Ybbs2020 has reached an important milestone, despite the restrictions caused by the crisis. All new large components of Machine 2 have been safely lifted into place. Lifting the loads weighing up to 230 tonnes into the turbine shaft was a big challenge for the operating team, which they successfully managed in spite of the necessary safety measures.
The task at Ybbs in recent weeks was to lift the enormous plant parts safely into the turbine shaft using the gantry crane. Pictures illustrate the enormous dimensions hidden away inside the power plant. The heaviest part, the rotor, weighs 230 tonnes and has a diameter of almost 10 metres. Both gantry cranes have to be used in synchronisation to lower the load centimetre by centimetre into the perfectly fitting turbine shaft. The last part was the impressive, red, 140-tonne stator ring.
Now the final heavy load has been lifted into place, the test run phase can begin. The new Machine No.2 (the fourth of a total of six vertical Kaplan turbines) will be tested and put into operation in stages. One machine alone generates electricity for 57,000 households each year.
More electricity from hydropower
The heart of electricity generation is the generator. A movable ring is driven inside a stationary ring by the Danube via the turbine and in doing so generates electricity from hydropower.
The components are all original parts from the 1950s and VERBUND is replacing them in stages with new plant parts. The refurbishment at the Ybbs-Persenbeug location also includes the replacement of the control systems, cables and transformers. Once the project is complete, the power plant will generate electricity for an additional 22,000 households. In total, VERBUND is investing 144 million euros in the Ybbs-Persenbeug site.
More about the project: www.verbund.com/ybbs2020
