The replacement of the Rotorpoles on the three water-cooled generators will help maintain the efficiency of the generators for decades. The services activities will be completed between the summer of 2025 and 2027. The rotorpoles are to be assembled in GE Vernova’s Norway Services Workshop in Lier.
To optimise downtime, Hafslund Eco also decided to combine the service of the water-cooled generators with the refurbishment programme of the hydropower plant expected within the same timeframe.
Water-cooled generators can offer up to 20 – 30% higher power output and higher efficiency than conventional air-cooled generators, reducing operating temperatures and ventilation losses. GE Vernova’s Hydro Power business has demonstrated its expertise delivering components for projects in Norway and beyond.
Tormod Kleppa (Director of Projects), Hafslund ECO, said: “We are happy to be working with GE on this project. The Servicing of our Aurland 1 is an important project for us and we are glad to count on GE to deliver the new Rotorpoles while the refurbishment programme is undergoing.”
Built between 1969 – 1989, the Aurland 1 HPP represents Hafslund Eco’s largest power plant, and Norway’s third largest hydropower plant, delivering 840 MW of renewable energy to the country.
In Norway, more than 90% of power generation comes from hydropower (~33 GW installed base). According to the International Hydropower Association (IHA), the huge potential for hydropower in Norway is linked to the high mountain plateaus, abundant natural lakes, and steep valleys and fjords. Hydropower provided the basis for the nation’s industrialisation in the late 19th Century, and remains the backbone of its power system.
Pascal Radue, Hydro Power President and CEO, GE Vernova, added: “Norway has been an inspiring example of how hydropower can contribute to the energy transition by delivering a large amount of renewable energy in the very long term. Today, the average age of the fleet is about 50 years, opening up for refurbishment needs, that will help extend the life-time but also increase even more the efficiency of hydropower plants, without any need to re-build a dam. We are thrilled to partner with Hafslund ECO on this service project.”
