Siemens is supplying two gas-insulated high-voltage switchgears (GIS) for the Roghun hydroelectric power plant in Tajikistan, Focus.com, a business focused social networking platform, reported on September 25.
Focus.com notes that the power plant is part of the Roghun Dam project. At a height of 335 meters, the dam taking shape here will be the highest in the world.
The 8DQ1 switchgear, covering a voltage range of up to 550 kilovolts (kV) with 21 circuit breakers, and the 8DN9 switchgear, covering up to 220 kV with four circuit breakers, will protect the power generation and transmission systems in the hydropower station against short circuits and overloading. The switchgear should be fully installed and ready for operation by 2018.
The gas-insulated switchgear covering ranges up to 220 kV and 550 kV are fitted with online monitoring devices to enable automatic remote diagnosis and self-monitoring and have been developed for an estimated total service life of more than 50 years, and are almost maintenance-free once in operation.
The Roghun HPP (Hydropower Project), a $3.9 billion endeavor that will last 13 years, will be done by Salini Impregilo, which signed with OJSC NOB Roghun (the state-controlled company coordinating the project) an agreement following an international public tender.
It will begin with Lot 2 (signed on July 1 for $1.95 billion) that concerns the construction of the main dam, which foresees the diversion of the Vakhsh River by having it converge into two tunnels to keep the dam’s foundation dry. It will be a complex job that will only be done in winter, when the mountain snows help reduce the strength of the river’s waters.
Although it will take years to complete the project, the idea is to have two of the six turbines start producing energy for sale by 2018 to raise funding to complete it.
The first turbine is expected to go into service in August 2018, followed by the second one in October of the same year.
The Roghun Dam will stand on the Vakhsh River, about 100 kilometers north-east of Dushanbe. It will be upriver from the Norak Dam, which is currently the world’s highest at 300 meters. A hydropower station with a generating capacity of 3600 megawatts (MW) is planned for the Roghun Dam, with generation provided by six 600 MW turbines. This will enable 13.3 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity to be generated annually, supplying power to large areas of Central Asia. It will be one of the largest hydropower stations in the world.
