The modernization project represents one of the largest ever individual orders of Voith Hydro St. Pölten. With a runner diameter of 10.3m, the Kaplan turbines for Saratovskaya are among the largest of their kind in the world.
The turbines will be modernized in different stages in close cooperation with a Russian partner.
The background for the intended joint venture MOU is the potential of the Russian hydro power market. The commercially feasible hydropower capacity in Russia amounts to 852TWh/year, of which just 17% has been developed to date. Apart from utilizing this potential, there is also a high demand for the rehabilitation of existing hydro power stations. About one fifth of the turbines currently in service throughout the country are more than 40 years old.
