GE to refurbish two units at Pakistan’s Mangla hydropower plant

Mangla Dam
Mangla Dam, courtesy Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority

GE has been selected by Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) to refurbish units 9 and 10 at the 1GW Mangla hydropower plant.

The Mangla hydropower project is a multipurpose facility located on the Jhelum River in Mirpur district of Azad Kashmir.

It includes Mangla Dam, which is the seventh largest dam in the world, and the country’s largest reservoir, which has a live storage capacity of 7.48 million acre feet. The Mangla powerhouse is 50 years old and contains 10 turbine-generator units. As Pakistan’s electricity consumption is growing, the refurbishment work will extend the lifetime and efficiency of the plant, as well as boost capacity by 280MW.

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GE’s scope of work for these two units includes the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the two hydro turbine and generator components.

Previously, GE was selected for the ongoing refurbishment of units 1 through 6 at Mangla. The 100MW units will be replaced by 135MW units.

“By replacing the units in an existing dam, we can extend the life of a project for another 50 years,” said Pascal Radue, Hydro Solutions president and chief executive officer, GE. “We can also increase the capacity of the hydropower plant, to deliver an even larger amount of renewable energy for the country. We are thrilled to be partnering further with WAPDA on this project to help accelerate the hydro energy transition in Pakistan.”

Pakistan has long-term goals to have hydropower meet 46% of the country’s power generation needs by 2030.

GE Renewable Energy, part of the GE Vernova portfolio of energy businesses, provides end-to-end solutions for customers in the onshore and offshore wind, blades, hydro, storage, utility-scale solar, and grid solutions industries, as well as hybrid renewables and digital services offerings. GE Vernova is comprised of the Power, Renewable Energy, Digital and Energy Financial Services businesses.

Originally published on hydroreview.com

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