Our Technical Team Conducts Site Survey at State‑Owned HPP to Advance Renovation Project of 16 Sets of S‑Type Shaft‑Extended Tubular Units
Recently, at the invitation of the owner of a state‑owned hydropower station, our team of professional engineers carried out on‑site inspection, equipment survey and technical exchanges in the powerhouse. In‑depth discussions were held regarding the renovation project for 16 sets of S‑type shaft‑extended tubular turbine‑generator units, laying a solid on‑site foundation for subsequent scheme design, equipment selection and project implementation.
This HPP is a low‑head run‑of‑river plant with multiple units operating in parallel. It is equipped with numerous in‑service S‑type shaft‑extended tubular units, which have long undertaken peak regulation and base‑load power supply for the regional power grid and serve as a core facility for local clean energy supply. After years of continuous operation, some components suffer from wear, efficiency decline and aging control systems. The owner plans to implement systematic renovation to improve the hydraulic efficiency, operational stability and automation level of the units, cut operation and maintenance costs, and tap the power generation potential of the existing powerhouse and water passages.
Upon arrival at the site, our engineers entered the main powerhouse and inspected the flow passage structure, main shaft system, wicket gate mechanism, generator body, bearing assemblies and local control cabinets of each unit one by one. They measured key installation dimensions, recorded original operating parameters and verified civil engineering boundary conditions. A special technical seminar was also held with the owner’s operation, maintenance and management team to exchange views on critical points including renovation scope, interfaces between new and old equipment, outage window period, construction sequence and grid‑connection acceptance criteria.
S‑type shaft‑extended tubular units are well suited for river resources characterized by low head and large flow rate. Thanks to their distinctive S‑shaped flow passage layout, the complete unit can be disassembled and installed without extensive powerhouse civil excavation, making them ideal for in‑situ renovation of old hydropower stations. Drawing on years of experience in R&D, manufacturing and engineering retrofitting of tubular units, our renovation solution maximizes reuse of existing hydraulic structures and flow passage foundations. While reducing civil works, shortening construction cycles and controlling investment, we optimize the runner hydraulic model and upgrade seals, bearings and automatic control systems to achieve capacity expansion, efficiency improvement, remote monitoring and reduced on‑site staffing.
During on‑site communications, the owner recognized our technical expertise, site survey capability and turnkey delivery experience in the field of tubular hydropower units. Both parties agreed to prepare targeted technical renovation proposals and commercial documents as soon as possible based on data collected from this survey, and push forward project delivery continuously.
This site survey marks another key practice of our company in exploring the domestic market for efficiency improvement of existing hydropower assets. Going forward, we will continue to leverage our full‑chain technical strengths for hydropower equipment, providing integrated solutions covering customized unit manufacturing, efficiency retrofitting and O&M upgrades for new and existing hydropower stations. We strive to help state‑owned hydropower assets achieve quality and efficiency gains and contribute equipment solutions to the development of green and low‑carbon energy.
