MICA — BC Hydro’s Mica project reached a big milestone on Friday this week when the turbine that will power the new fifth generating unit was lowered into place in Mica’s underground powerhouse. Moving such a big piece of equipment requires careful planning and teamwork. The stainless steel turbine measures 6.45 metres across and weighs 136.7 tonnes – about as much as four humpback whales. A specialized overhead crane in Mica’s powerhouse designed to carry the heavy load was used to carefully set the turbine into place. When the new generating unit is operational, the turbine will spin at speeds of 133 revolutions per minute so its placement is a precision job. The project team lowered the turbine so that it centered less than 0.2 millimetres from its final position. The work to install a new generating unit at Mica dam is done from the bottom up. The on-site construction work first focused on preparing the water passages that will channel water from the new turbine out of the powerhouse and into the river below. Then the spiral case that envelops the turbine was fabricated and encased in concrete. Shaped like a snail shell, the spiral case narrows as it wraps around the turbine to guide water evenly (at a constant pressure) into the turbine. Once the turbine is installed, project work will focus upon installing additional generating unit components and equipment needed to connect the new unit to the powerhouse electrical system. The new turbine was manufactured in Ravensburg, Germany, and was transported 13,000 kilometres by ocean freighter, truck, and barge to Mica Generating Station in 2013. Go to https://www.bchydro.com/news/conservation/2013/turbine-to-mica-dam.html to discover more. BC Hydro has been working to install the new fifth and sixth generating units at Mica dam since 2011 and the project is on track and on budget with the fifth unit expected to be completed by the end of October 2014 and the sixth unit by the end of October 2015. BC Hydro is also close to completing the Mica Switchgear project that is replacing aging switchgear equipment and installing additional equipment needed to support the two new generating units. The Mica dam upgrade and expansion work is expected to cost roughly $900 million. Photo courtesy of BC Hydro
