DUSHANBE, February 8, 2012, Asia-Plus -- Alstom Grid has been awarded a contract worth more than €30 million with the Tajikistan National Utility Barqi Tojik, to design and deliver a 500 kV Switchyard Reconstruction Project to the Norak Hydroelectric Power Plant (Norak HPP) – the first ever project to use 500 kV Gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) technology in Central Asia, press release issued by AlstomGrid on February 7 said.

The project will be financed by a grant from Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“Tajikistan is Central Asia''s smallest country with mountains covering 93% of its territory. Due to a difficult geological environment the site of Norak HPP’s existing 500 kV Air-insulated substation (AIS) is at risk.  The new Alstom Grid turnkey project will replace the 500 kV AIS and install a new 500 kV GIS solution on a more stable site in the area.  The Alstom project will assure a safe and reliable electricity supply to support the country’s economic development.  By optimizing the flow of energy from Norak HPP across the grid, it will help to secure future energy sales revenue for Barqi Tojik.”

Press release notes that Norak HPP is the largest hydropower station in Central Asia with an installed generation capacity of 3 gigawatts (GW) and produces over 75% of Tajikistan''s electricity.  “It is a multipurpose project comprising several functions including power generation, the frequency regulation of Central Asia networks and irrigation supply for downstream countries such as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.”

Tajikistan has enormous hydro power potential.  Less than 10% of the nation’s hydroelectric energy resources have been developed, resources that could be producing 40 GW of energy.  Making the most efficient use of these resources will be critical to meeting the growing electricity needs of Central and South Asia countries, as well as providing sustainable economic growth.

Gregoire Poux Guillaume, Alstom Grid President declared: “Alstom Grid has been working with Barqi Tojik for over ten years, often on rehabilitation projects, essential to reinforcing and stabilizing the country’s power grid.  The current project follows a 220 kV GIS €22.4 million replacement project already underway at Norak HPP.  Winning this latest contract at Norak HPP will significantly reinforce Alstom Grid’s very committed presence in Central Asia.”

Scope of work on this turnkey project includes: 500 kV GIS bays, 500 kV XPLE cables, civil works, Protection & Control Systems, Telecom Equipment and Fire Protection System. Commissioning is scheduled for January 2014.

Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies.  Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world. It provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind, and it offers a wide range of solutions for power transmission, with a focus on smart grids.  The Group employs 92,700 people in 100 countries and had sales of €20.9 billion in 2010/11.

Alstom Grid has over 100 years of expertise in electrical grids. Whether for utilities or electro-intensive industries or facilitating the trading of energy, Alstom Grid brings power to its customers’ projects.  Alstom Grid ranks among the top 3 in electrical transmission sector with an annual sales turnover of more than €4 billion. It has 20,000 employees and over 90 manufacturing and engineering sites worldwide.  At the heart of the development of Smart Grid, Alstom Grid offers products, services and integrated energy management solutions across the full energy value chain—from power generation, through transmission and distribution grids and to the large end user.

The Norak Dam is an earth fill embankment dam on the Vakhsh River.  At 300 meters it is currently the tallest dam in the world.  Construction of the dam began in 1961 and was completed in 1979, when Tajikistan was still a republic within the Soviet Union.  The Norak Dam is uniquely constructed, with a central core of cement forming an impermeable barrier within a 300 meter-high rock and earth fill construction. The volume of the mound is 54 million m³. The dam includes nine hydroelectric generating units, the first commissioned in 1972 and the last in 1979.

A total of nine hydroelectric turbines are installed in the Norak Dam.  Originally having a generating capacity of 300 megawatts each (2,700 megawatts total), they have since been redesigned and retrofitted such that they now combine to produce 3,000 megawatts.  Units 1,2,3,4,6,7,8, and 9 now have capacity of 335 megawatts each and Unit 5 now has capacity of 320 megawatts.