Revitalization of HPP Djerdap 1 Completed – EPS Gets Additional 100 Green Megawatts

Djerdap 1 hydropower plant refurbishment has been successfully completed, acceptance tests are underway, while power system synchronization and connection are expected by mid-November at the latest, Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) announced.

The announcement says that, these days, the first rotation of the last refurbished unit A3 was started and that Djerdap 1, with six modernized and stronger machines, is ready to utilize the potential of the Danube.

– Djerdap 1 has been the pride of our hydropower industry for more than five decades, and after successful refurbishment, it will certainly be so for the coming 30 to 40 years. We got increased capacity, less scope of maintenance and decades of reliability – said Dusan Zivkovic, acting general manager of Elektroprivreda Srbije, after touring the completed works.

Zivkovic pointed out that after Djerdap 1 refurbishment, the total capacity of its six generators was increased to 1,140 megawatts, and by increasing the nominal active power of each generator from 171 to 190 megawatts, EPS got one new 100-megawatt power plant.

– We will continue hydropower plant refurbishments in the coming period, while the most significant projects are the modernization of Vlasina hydropower plants, Bistrica HPP, Potpec and Djerdap 2. The European Union has also recognized the importance of EPS hydropower plant refurbishments. To this end, EPS was awarded a EUR 49 million grant through the Western Balkan Investments Framework (WBIF) to finance four RES projects. Of that, EUR 16.1 million are intended to refurbish Vlasina hydropower plants – said Zivkovic.

Djerdap 1 HPP, the largest hydropower plant of the Elektroprivreda Srbije system, produces about half of the total electricity from the hydropower plant sector of EPS. Extensive refurbishment of Djerdap 1 HPP was carried out by technical teams of Elektroprivreda Srbije, Djerdap HPP, experts from local scientific institutions and the Russian company Silovije masini. Unit A3 was stopped on September 1, 2022, after more than 51 years of operation. The largest part installed in one piece on the Unit A3 is the rotor of the main generator weighing 610 tons and 14.15 meters in diameter. The 350-ton, six-bladed runner is the most attractive one-piece assembly. Some 40 kilometers of power and signal cables have been installed in each unit. The state-of-the-art equipment from domestic and international manufacturers has been installed in the refurbished units, the announcement says.

The main equipment supplier is the Russian company Silovije masini from Saint Petersburg, while part of the equipment was refurbished by local factories. The magnitude of this project is illustrated by the fact that 1,300 tons of rotating and 950 tons of static equipment were dismantled. The contractors were the workers of Djerdap 1 HPP, Gosa montaza, Djerdap usluge, ATB Sever from Subotica, Jadran, Kolubara Metal as well as experts from the Nikola Tesla and Mihajlo Pupin institutes, while metal components were inspected by the Materials Testing Institute from Belgrade.

Elektroprivreda Srbije ad Beograd

Institut IMS a.d. Beograd

Kolubara Metal d.o.o. Vreoci

Elektrotehnički institut Nikola Tesla a.d. Beograd

Institut Mihajlo Pupin doo Beograd

ATB Sever d.o.o. Subotica

Đerdap usluge a.d. Kladovo

Goša Montaža doo Beograd

PREDSTAVNIŠTVO SILOVIJE MAŠINI-ZTL, LMZ, ELEKTROSILA, ENERGOMAŠEKSPORT, BEOGRAD (SAVSKI VENAC)

EPS

WBIF

Silovije Mašini

Jadran

Dušan Živković

HPP Đerdap 1

Vlasina HPPs

HPP Bistrica

HPP Potpeć

revitalization of Đerdap 1