Alstom successfully commissions Nuclear Power Plant I&C modernisation

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Ringhals Block 3 on line and delivering power to the network

Alstom, a global leader in the supply of equipment and services for power generation, has successfully completed the installation of a new control system for block 3 of the Ringhals nuclear power plant in Sweden in a record time. The Automation & controls project team had only 30 days to implement the new control system. The system has passed an exhaustive series of operational testing since Ringhals 3 first synchronized to the grid in mid-October.

This is the last important milestone of the integrated retrofit of the complete turbo group systems of block 3 at Ringhals. The commissioning of the new control system enabled the plant to deliver full power output in time for the increasing winter demand.

"I am very pleased with the good collaboration during the project execution. Thanks to our joint efforts, all challenges within the project were met, and Ringhals 3 is now up and running in secure and stable commission", commented Bertil Dihné, President, Ringhals AB.

After a long period of engineering and mock-up tests the actual installation work began in late August and was completed one month later, to meet the deadline for cold commissioning a phase of preparation, installation and testing, before turning the reactor steam on.

The complete modernization of the control system at Ringhals 3 has truly been a success story, said Paul Barath, Managing Director, Alstom Power Automation and Controls (PAC) Nordic and Baltic. Its an important milestone in this large and complex project. Our technical and project execution capabilities have been well proven and the experience gained here prepares us well for the next phase, he said.

The next major step for Alstom is the completion of block 4 in 2011, which includes installation of the control system, erection of four new moisture separators, installation of two high-pressure turbines and two low-pressure preheaters.

The Ringhals nuclear power plant, situated on the west coast of Sweden 60 kilometres south of Gothenburg,.is the largest power plant in Scandinavia. The plant has four reactors - three pressurised water reactors and one boiling water reactor. In a normal year, Ringhals generates around 28 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity approximately one fifth of Swedens total electrical energy consumption and sufficient to supply six cities the size of Gothenburg with electricity. The plants total power output is about 3690 MW.

Press Contact: Nathan McConnell - Tel: +41 56 205 4032 nathan.mcconnell@power.alstom.com