ASHTA hydroelectric project in Albania

ASHTA hydroelectric project

Gamesa Electric has supplied, to the Austrian hydroelectric turbine manufacturer ANDRITZ HYDRO, 90 units of the latest generation of permanent magnet electric generators for the ASHTA plant, located on the River Drin (Albania), to be operated by the Austrian electrical company VERBUND.

The project located in Albania generates around 70 MW of green energy produced by hydraulic turbines. The agreement involves the transference of the technologies developed by Gamesa Electric for the latest generation of G10X 4.5 MW wind turbines, to hydraulic applications. Gamesa Electric is an R+D and innovation leader in the field of electric generators based in permanent magnet technology, and has its premises for design, development, validation and manufacturing of high performance equipment in its factory in the north of Spain, in the city Reinosa (Cantabria).

The ASHTA plant, designed with the innovative HYDROMATRIX@ technology developed by ANDRITZ HYDRO, produces energy by hydraulic turbines submerged in the water, using a building infrastructure that minimises the environmental impact and results in a more efficient usage of the natural resources. As part of the take-over process, the turbine-generator units went through a rigorous testing regime which culminated in a continuous 3-month long reliability run of all 90 units. All the units passed this endurance test and recorded minimal outages which amounted to less than a fifth of the allowed outage threshold values. The world´s largest HYDROMATRIX® plant has thereby proved its reliability. The project was completed within three and a half years.

During its 35 year-long build-operate-transfer concession, Energji Ashta will deliver more than 240 GWh of annual energy and will significantly improve the energy supply situation in Albania