  
Hydro Power News
News Archives  1997
News Archives 1998
News Archives 1st
Half of 1999
News Archives 2nd
Half of 1999
11/23/2000
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World Bank Study on Dams
The World Commission on Dams recently presented a study on the
effects of dams on nature and mankind, which it had compiled on
behalf of the World Bank. Dam constructors, governments and organizations
pledged to environmental protection send their representatives to
participate in this independent commission. The study's key findings
are: Insufficient planning of many river dams has to be criticized,
as it may have dramatic effects on nature and mankind. Social consequences
are often ignrored , as many people are forced to leave their homeland,
when dams are built. In addition to that, many dams are uneconomic,
hazardous and detrimental to flora and fauna. The commission therefore
concludes that dam projects will have to obey stricter regulations.
(iwr) |
11/07/2000
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Drought in Albania Leads to Shortage in Water Power
The Albanian government ordered people to scale down their
power consumption due to a lack of water power, which is the consequence
of a drought. Because of the drought, the power output of hydroelectric
power plants decreased by 85%. Therefore, power supply is limited
to only five hours per day. (iwr)
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10/31/20000
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Fortum and Vattenfall Exchange Hydropower Shares
Fortum Kraft AB from Sweden and Vattenfall will exchange their hydropower
shares. Fortum will transfer its shares in the Finnish company Pamilo
Oy to Vattenfall and in return will receive Vattenfall's shares
in Bullerforsens Kraft AB, Sweden. According to Fortum, the arrangement
will clarify the shareholding of Pamilo and Bullerfors. Via the
transaction, which is said to be completed by the end of the year,
Fortum will own 88% of the shares of Bullerforsens Kraft. Pamilo
will be wholly owned by Vattenfall. Fortum intends to increase its
annual production in Sweden by over 0.2 TWh, and Vattenfall expects
an increase by over 0.1 TWh per year. (iwr) |
10/18/2000
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Water Power Symposium in Rheinfelden, Germany
October 11, 2000, a symposium was held in Rheinfelden, Germany,
which focused on "Water Power on the Market: Problems, Strategies
and Approaches to Solutions." The experts participating in
the symposium discussed issues such as support models on the European
level, the German legislation, and the development of water power
utilization in Switzerland. The manuscripts of the symposium can
now be downloaded from the following website: http://www.energiedienst.de.
They can be found under the heading "Aktuell". (iwr)
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10/06/2000
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Water Power Production Data
The water power production data of German hydroelectric power
plants can now be downloaded on the IWR website (click here).
The updated data are based on information by the operators of the
hydroelectric power plants. (iwr) |
09/19/2000
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Statkraft's Plan for Hydroelectric Power Plant Faces Opposition
Norway's state utility Statkraft recently announced that a
political struggle over its plan to build a relatively small hydropower
plant in northern Norway could pose new problems, although work
has not yet been delayed. This was recently reported by Reuters
news service. The project in question is a 66 MW hydroelectric
power station in the Beiarn watershed on the cusp of Sjaltfjellet-Svartisen
national park. A majority in parliament and environmentalists
are currently opposing the plan, demanding a new impact study
to be conducted for its potential threat to food supply for reindeer
and wild salmon in the watercourse, says Reuters. (iwr)
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09/04/2000
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BC HYDRO International und VA TECH HYDRO Form Service Partnership
British-Columbia Hydro International (BC HYDRO), Canada, und
VA TECH HYDRO, Austria, announced that they want to develop a service
partnership for the operation of hydroelectric power plants. Among
the services offered by the partnership, there will be the registration
of systems, a diagnosis, a risk analysis, the management, the improvement
of performance, maintenance, technical services, performance-based
contracting models as well as the reconstruction and modernization
of hydroelectric power plants. BC Hydor International is a 100%
subsidiary of BC Hydro, a state-owned energy supplier in British
Columbia. According to VA TECH, BC Hydro will be responsible for
the design, erection, operation and maintenance of the energy generating
system in that region, which basically consists of water power and
encompasses 61 dams. (iwr) |
08/18/2000
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Wasserkraft Volk Inc. Obtains Large-Scale Order from Bulgaria
Wasserkraft Volk Inc. from Simonswald, Germany, will provide eight
turbine systems for a drinking water preparation system of the
city of Blagoevgrad, 100 kilometers south of Bukarest. There,
the drinking originates in a natural park located 862 meters above
the drinking water preparation system. The order amounts to DM
4.5 million in total, and its total capacity will be 5,500 kW,
yielding 35 million kWh per year. It is expected that 17,500 households
or a city of 50.000 citizens (without industry) can be supplied
with energy by these turbines. (iwr)
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| 08/02/2000 |
VA Tech Gets Large Order for River Dam Project
VA TECH VOEST MCE announced today that it obtained an order for
the supply of penstocks for the San Roque hydro power project on
Luzon Island, Philippines. The San Roque water power project is
located at the headwater of Agno river on Luzon Island, approximately,
200 kilometers north of Manila. The project has a power generation
capacity of 345 MW. Based on a power supply contract, National Power
Corp. will purchase the power generated by this project for 25 years.
According to VA Tech, the river dam of San Roque hydroelectric power
plant will have a height of 190 meters and a width of more than
1 kilometer, and will thus belong to the top ten of the world's
biggest river dams. (iwr) |
| 07/20/2000 |
Three Large Orders for Votih Siemens Hydro Power Generation
Voith Siemens Hydro Generation received three large orders from
China and Portugal. From China the company obtained an order for
the supply of the exciter system of the 14 700 MW generators
of the first construction phase of the three-gorge water power project.
The exciter system controls the electric capacity in the generator.
In addition to that the company is supposed to provide two pumped
storage systems to Venda Nova II hydroeelectric power plant in Portugal.
Moreover, two radial pumps will be made available to the Alqueve-Alamos
irrigation system by Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation. (iwr) |
| 07/06/2000 |
unit energy Purchases Two Hydroelectric Power Plants in France
unit energy europe Inc. recently announced that it purchased two
run-of-river hydroelectric power plants in France together with
the Dutch utilities company NUON. The power plants have a total
capacity of 14 MW. They were erected at the banks of Seine river
in Normandie, south of Rouen, in 1988 and 1992. The annual power
yield of the two power plants amounts to roughly 58 million kWh
on average. According to unit energy long-term electricity-feed
contracts were signed with the national grid operator Electricité
de France. (iwr) |
| 06/21/2000 |
New Hydroelectric Power Plant in Italy
The environmental real estate agency "Umwelt Immobilien Behlau"
from Germany reported that it recently started operation of its
first hydroelectric power plant in Italy. The power plant's drop
height reaches 44 meters. It will have a rated output of 400 kW
after construction will have been completed. A German client
is said to be the operator of the power plant. Additional hydroelectric
power plant projects are currently being prepared by "Umwelt Immobilien
Behlau". (iwr) |
| 06/06/2000 |
Europe's Biggest Moveable Rake Purification System
According to press releases, the company "Pühler" from Germany
finished uulidng Europe's biggest moveable rake purification machine.
The order had been placed by the German utilities company Bayernwerk
Wasserkraft AG. The machine, wich is equipped with an additional
crane and integrated dam-tableau hoisting gear, is supposed
to be installed in Kachlet hydroelectric power plant near Passau.
The machine weighs 65 tons and has a height of 10 meters and a length
and width of 9 meters each. (iwr) |
| 05/04/2000 |
Unit Energy Purchases Hydroelectric Power Plant in Georgia
Unit Energy Inc. purchased a 9 MW hydroelectric power plant in Sioni
(Georgia). Thereby, it could double its renewable energy generating
capacities to approximately 20 MW (formally 10. 8 MW). The power
plant, which was built in 1964, generates approximately 25 million
kWh of power annually. (iwr) |
| 04/20/2000 |
Floating Power Vessel Before the Coast of the Shetland Islands
A so-called Floating Power Vessel, equipped with a 1.5 MW Kaplan
turbine, is supposed to start generating power before the coast
of the Shetland Islands in the fall of 2002. The vessel will capture
the Atlantic ocean waves in a basin and will use the energy of the
outflowing water just like a regular hydroelectric power plant.
Then the power will be transmitted ashore by an underwater cable,
and eventually the power will be fed into the Scottish Eletric Hydro
grid. The power plant project, which is planned by the Swedish company
Sea Power International AB, is expected to generate 5.2 million
kWh of power annually. (iwr) |
| 04/14/2000 |
ALSTOM Acquires ABB Stock in ABB Alstom Power
ABB, which also operates in the water power sector, and ALSTOM recently
announced that ALSTOM is acquring ABB stock in their 50-50 joint
company ABB ALSTOM Power for a cash payment of EURO 1.25 billion.
The power company will be integrated into ALSTOM's sector reporting
structure. With 1999 pro-forna sales of EURO 9.8 billion, ABB ALSTOM
Power is a world leader in the supply of power generation services
and equipment and employs over 50,000 people worldwide. (iwr) |
| 04/11/2000 |
Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation Started Operation
After the approval of the cartel authorities had been granted, Voith
Siemens Hydro Power Generation Ltd., a joint venture of J.M. Voith
Inc. and Siemens Inc., started operation April 3, 2000. The new
joint venture will join together the hydropower activities of both
companies. Voith will hold 65% of the stocks and Siemens 35%. The
joint venture consists of 19 production and engineering sites worldwide
and employs aprroximately 2,100 people. The volume of incoming orders
and thr company's turnover will presumably reach DM 1 billion (EURO
0.51 billion). (iwr) |
| 03/24/2000 |
VAT Increased Its Operative Results and Turnover
The Austrian VA Technologie Inc. recently announced that it increased
its operative results, its turnover, and the number of orders in
1999. In the company's energy and water technology sector the volume
of incoming orders climbed to EUR 1,484 million, an increase of
61%. The operative result before interest rates and taxes amounted
to EUR 57 million and was thus raised by 111%. The acquisition of
Sulzer/Hydro and the successful integration of the acquired companies
contributed to the positive results. Large-scale orders pertaining
to the company's water power activities such as the Borcka-Muratli
project in Turkey or the water technology project in Greater Glasgow
(United Kingdom) were evaluated as important entrepreneurial steps
by VAT. (iwr) |
| 03/10/2000 |
Austria: First Sluice Hydroeletcric Power Plant Started Operation
Austria's largest power supplier started operation of the world's
first sluice hydroelectric power plant, which is located near Freudenau
at the Danube river. The project, which cost approximately
EUR 3.5 million, was supported by the European Union. It consists
of 25 turbines, arranged in a matrix of 5 by 5 and can generate
3.7 million kWh of power annually. (iwr) |
| 03/01/2000 |
Increased Utilization of Water Power in Indonesia
Entec company from St. Gallen, Switzerland, provides information
and consulting services for companies and utilities in Indonesia
that want to build and maintain small hydroelectric power plants
in Indoensia. In the small town of Curug Agung, a 12 kW hydroelectric
power plant, which was installed with the help of Gesellschaft für
Technische Zusammenarbeit - GTZ (Association for Technological Co-Operation)
has been operated successfully for the past eight years. Yet, since
water power was not reimbursed, it could only function successfully
in areas with no power-grid. Backed by the support of the new democratic
government, the state-owned utilities company PLN now intends to
reimburse water power generated in privately-operated hydroelectric
power plants. (iwr) |
| 02/14/2000 |
Power Generated by Ocean Waves
The German newspaper "Frankfurter Rundschau" reported that SDE,
a company in Tel Aviv, Israel, which constructs machines for the
desalinization of sea water, developed a generator that can convert
ocean waves into power. The generator works on the principle that
the ocean waves are transformed into hydraulic energy first and
then reconverted into electric energy. It makes use of the wave's
velocity, ist high and low points, and the currents beneath the
surface of the sea. SDE engineers estimate that 15% of the world's
electricity can be produced with this generator. (iwr) |
| 02/02/2000 |
Turkey Relies Increasingly on Water Power
In its latest edition, the magazine "Wasserbetriebswerk" reported
that Turkey wants to make consequent use of its water power ressources.
Thus far, more than 470 projects have alreaday been completed, and
more than 200 are under construction. Therefore Turkey is able to
meet an ever-increasing share of its power demands of 120 billion
kWh per year with energy generated from water power resources. The
Turkish government intends to double its water power production
by 2010. (iwr) |
| 01/24/2000 |
Dispute Concerning Hydroelectric Power Plant at Danube River
in Hungary
An old quarrel between Hungary and Slovakia has been reinvigorated.
In 1992 Slovakia started operation of Gabcikovo hydroelectric power
plant which entailed the re-routing of the Danube river. Hungary
protestred against this, and ultimately the case was brought before
the International Judicial Court in The Hague. The court in The
Hague admonished the two countries to work out an environmentally
sound proposal for a solution of the problem. The WWF made one proposal
as to a solution in which it concluded that the dam and the derivation
canal are detrimental for the floodplain areas of the river. Thus,
the WWF concluded that there really is only one environmentally
sound solution which calls for the re-filling of the old riverbed
of Danube river with more water. (iwr) |
| 01/14/2000 |
First Sea Current Power Plant Will Be Built
It will look almost like a wind energy converter that stands on
the sea floor and whose rotor blades will be located roughly
10 meters below the water surface: the first sea current power plant
in the world. The power plant, which is expected to be installed
before the coast of Cornwall (Bristol channel) in the fall of 2000,
is a global pilot project for the energetic use of sea and ocean
currents on a commercial scale. Until the fall of 2000, scientists
at the University of Kassel's Department of Electrical Engineering
will continue to work on optimizing the technical components of
the 350 kW trial power plant. The rotor, the line connection, and
the control and regulation units of the plant are being developed
by the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of
Kassel, the Institut für Solare Energieversorgungstechnik (Institute
for Solar Energy Supply Tehcnology), and German manufacturers of
components. (iwr) |
| 01/12/2000 |
World's Biggest Hydro Power Project Planned for Indian State
Recently, Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, India's power minister, announced
that India's federal power ministry plans to build a 21,000 Megawatt
hydroelectric power plant project in the northeastern state of Arunachal
Pradesh. The project , which will be the world's biggest in a single
area, will consist of three units on Bramhaputra River at Subansiri,
producing 7,600 MW, and of additional three units at Dihang, generating
13,400 MW. It is expected that the project can start operation
in 2008. (iwr) |
| 01/06/2000 |
New Scottish Hydroelectric Power Plant
National Power plc recently announced that it will build its first
hydro electric power station in Scotland as part of its plan to
increase its output from renewable energy sources. The 850 kW power
plant will be constructed at Glen Tarbert, some 20 miles southwest
of Fort William, Scotland, at a cost of around £1 million.
Construction on the project will begin shortly, and operation is
scheduled to start in the fall. (iwr) |
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