Swedish nuclear retrofit

Alstom has won a contract worth around 190 million Euros to provide steam turbine and generator equipment as part of a project to increase the power output of Ringhals nuclear power station in Sweden.

Under the contract with Ringhals, owned by Swedish energy companies Vattenfall and Sydkraft, Alstom will supply new internal retrofit parts for four turbine/generator sets at units 3 & 4 of the four-unit plant. Each set contains one generator, one high-pressure steam turbine and three low-pressure steam turbines.

In addition, Alstom will replace and upgrade moisture separator reheaters, turbine instrumentation and control system, main steam valves and other balance of plant, as well as carrying out dismantling, installation, commissioning and testing work.

Thanks to an upgrade of the nuclear reactors and the design of the retrofitted turbine and generator equipment, the rated electrical power output of each of the two units will increase from the current 920 MW to slightly more than 1100 MW on unit 3 and approximately 1150 MW on unit 4.

Most of the work will be carried out during scheduled annual outage periods, with the main installation work for unit 3 taking place in 2006 and 2007, and in 2008 and 2011 for unit 4.