Power engineers of the Shardarinsky hydroelectric power station (HPP, Republic of Kazakhstan) together with partners from the Austrian-German company Andritz Hidro GmbX completed the installation of a new hydroelectric unit No. 4. This is the final stage of the project to modernize the facility, as a result of which the power of the station will increase by 26%. The total cost of the project is 38 billion tenge.
Today, the shardarinskaya HPP is undergoing test tests of the new hydroelectric unit No. 4 after a trial run. Specialists observe the operation of the turbine and analyze the results.
The new imported equipment will generate an additional 57 million kWh of electricity per year, which will increase the service life of the hydroelectric station to 35-40 years, as well as increase the reliability of HPP operation and reduce the level of accidents.
Old hydro turbines produced by Kharkiv plant (Ukraine) replaced by the products of Andritz Hidro GmbX. The new hydroelectric units will increase electricity generation at the shardarinskaya HPP from 480 to 537 million kWh per year.
Technological upgrading of the facility is of great importance for providing electricity to the energy-deficient Turkestan region of Kazakhstan and improving the efficiency of water resources use in the region.
The project is financed by 32% from Samruk-Energo JSC's own funds, 68% from borrowed funds. The contractor of the project is Andritz Hidro GmbX.
Due to commissioning in the first half of 2019 year two new generating units with a capacity of 31.5 MW each, shardarinskaya HPP has fulfilled the annual plan for electricity — if you plan 378 000 kWh generation amounted to 464 841 thousand kWh.
Shardarinskaya HPP was commissioned in 1967 with an installed capacity of 100 MW and four hydroelectric units. With a standard service life of 25 years, the technological equipment of the station was operated for more than half a century, and its further operation became impractical from the point of view of economy and reliability.
The first new hydroelectric unit with a capacity of 31.5 MW was launched in February 2019, followed by the second hydroelectric unit in April, and the third in December 2019. With the installation of the fourth hydro turbine and the completion of its test tests, the shardarinskaya HPP will be prepared to reach its design power generation capacity of 126 MW.