Order for Alstom

has received an order from South Korea’s

for the supply of hydro electric equipment to the country’s Yecheon Pumped-storage Plant (PSP), located on the Nagdong River system, 230 km south-east of Seoul.

As sub-contractor to Doosan, Alstom is to provide the design for two 400 MW pump-turbine/generator units and share the manufacturing of components with Doosan. Alstom equipment will be manufactured in the company’s factories in Switzerland and France. Commercial operation is scheduled for September 2010.

According to Alstom, a pumped-storage plant allows plant owners/operators to pump water during the night when both energy demand and price are low and turbine this water for generation of electricity during the day when the situation reverses. PSP’s capacity to follow demand fluctuations and provide base and peak-load in a short time complements supply from existing nuclear and thermal plants. This kind of flexibility also makes PSP an ideal back-up source for intermittent renewables such as wind and solar.

Doosan is a licensee of Alstom for manufacturing hydro turbines and generators. In the past, the two companies have collaborated on PSP projects such as Muju (2x300MW, 1987), Sanchong (2x360MW, 1994), Yangyang (4x250MW, 1996).