In September, Voith Hydro and Furnas signed an agreement to modernize the Porto Colombia hydropower plant located on the Grande River on the border between the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. Construction of the plant started in 1970 and it went into operation in 1973 with an installed capacity of 320 MW. The project marks Furnas’ first large-scale contract after privatization.
The scope of work includes the refurbishment of the Kaplan turbines, generators, and the plant’s overhead crane. Also, the replacement of mechanical and electrical auxiliary systems and digitization of measurement, protection, and control systems will be covered. This will lead to an increase in the availability of the Furnas system that supplies the National Interconnected Grid.
Voith Hydro has extensive experience in modernizing hydropower plants in Brazil. From Paulo Afonso II and IV, Xingó I and II, and Henry Borden, the company has steadily developed its technologies and knowledge in modernization projects that require a special approach.
Earlier this year Voith Hydro signed an agreement with a subsidiary of Eletrobras to modernize the Paulo Afonso II hydropower plant. In 2021, it already started the modernization work for Paulo Afonso IV in the same hydroelectric power complex – the fourth largest plant in terms of installed capacity in Brazil which has been in operation since 1979.
