Commercial Water Turbines
With nominal outputs up to 1.5 MW, these units have been specifically designed for commercial power generation. They provide a fully governed and regulated three-phase AC supply. All can be controlled using the latest versions of our award winning ‘Electronic Load Governing System’
The high head ‘Hillstream’ sites are harnessed using mainly vertical shaft milti-jet ‘Pelton’ wheels and ‘Turgo’ type runners in a square casing. Highly adaptable and reliable, we have supplied these to projects around the world for over thirty years. The lower head ‘Millstream’ sites are developed using circular cased ‘Armstrong’ and ‘Propeller’ turbines. The very low head sites employ ‘Open-Flume’ or ‘Bulb-Type’ propeller turbines.
We usually fit brushless synchronous generators because it allows the plant to be operated when there is a power cut, and it usually reduces the grid connection costs if it avoids the need to re-cable the local grid network. All generators are well insulated and able to withstand accidental over-speeds. Protection against dangerous ‘over-voltages’ associated with over-speed conditions is also standard.
Minihydro projects in the range 50 kW to about 1500 kW per set, are designed specifically for the site and application. We pride ourselves with providing economic solutions for sites that other manufacturers regard as impossible or very expensive. Ultra-low head schemes below 3 metres, tidal or freestream turbines and very variable flows have all been catered for in the past.Such schemes are interconnected with a national grid system or power an isolated grid system for rural electrification.
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Stainless or carbon steel turbine case, shaft and fastenings are standard.
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Cast steel or stainless steel runners are standard.
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Rapid load rejection without over-speed.
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Automatic and remote operation as standard.
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Cast Pelton wheels up to 1010 mm PCD ( 1.5 tons )
‘Monte Salvado Peru’
This plant uses a vertical shaft Pelton wheel with a 400mm pitch circle (PCD) and three jets. The alternator is a four-pole brushless machine with a rated output is 80 kW and is used to power an agricultural training centre in the Amazon region of Peru.
‘Kataboola Tea Estate Sri Lanka’
This is a 600mm PCD vertical shaft Pelton turbine with three jets. The drive to the vertical alternator is via a high efficiency Kevlar reinforced flat-belt and the bearings are spherical-roller. Inspection and maintenance of this size and type of turbine is easily carried out from the tailrace channel below the turbine, saving on space and a lifting gantry within the powerhouse itself.
‘Pontsmill Powerstation Cornwall’
A very low-cost plant installed for a quarry company on the site of an old hydro plant. The two jet vertical shaft Pelton has a PCD of 800mm. Simple interchangeable jets were supplied to cater for changes in water flow. The maximum rated output for this type of unit is 250 kW.
‘Barmouth Water Treatment Works’
This type of conventional twin bearing layout is suitable for belt driven or direct drive generators. The turbine utilises an electrically operated spear valve and a deflector for emergency shutdown. The plant operates from the works inlet supply and is synchronised with the grid. The maximum rated output for this type of turbine is about 150 kW.
‘Glenlough Generation ’
This 360 kW (electrical output) horizontal shaft Pelton turbine has three jets. It operates from a net head of 210 metres and has two plain jets and one operated with a spear. All the jets have deflectors that are used for failsafe emergence shutdown. The directly driven induction generator is rated at 400 kVA and is connected to the ESB in the Republic of Ireland..
‘Owenbeg Power Station’
Another Irish scheme, this uses twin Pelton turbine runners each with three jets, to give a good part flow efficiency on a river that is very ‘flashy’ The scheme operates from 70 metres of fall and has an electrical output of 950 kW. A gearbox is used to increase the turbine speed from 300 to 1010 R.P.M. to run the induction generator.
‘Dolanog Power Station’
Two twin 500mm propeller turbines are used here to drive two brushless generators rated at 125 kVA each. The operating head is just over 6 metres. Synchronous generators were used to substantially reduce the grid connection costs (because the voltage can be controlled accurately at the point of connection)
‘A Kaplan Turbine Runner’
This runner is for a double regulated Kaplan turbine rated at 50Kw on a head of 4.5 metres. Although it is not the cheapest solution, these turbines have some applications on the smaller sites. We generally recommend twin fixed geometry propeller turbines or a fully variable axial flow ‘Armstrong’ turbine.