Alstom completes Chinese stator contract
ALSTOM Power’s Generator Service Factory in Stafford has successfully completed one of its largest ever export projects.
The Daya Bay Stator is the largest stator built by workers at the Lichfield Road factory for many years. The stator is the principle stationary component found within all electric generators.
The equipment is destined for China where after a 5,000-mile journey, it will become an integral part of the generator system supplying power into mainland China and Hong Kong.
The massive 330-tonne devised was transported from the factory on a special transporter to Ellesmere Port from where it departed on its six-week journey to Daya Bay in China.
More than 150 staff who work at the Generator Service Facility have been involved in the project, which dates back to June 2009 when the contract was first signed.
The stator is a duplicate of the original unit manufactured at the Stafford factory in the late 1980s. As part of the manufacturing process, the design of the stator has been upgraded to incorporate Alstom’s latest generator winding technology.
Daya Bay is China’s first nuclear power plant built in Guangdong Province in 1984, where Alstom supplied 2×1000 MW steam turbine-generators. To date Alstom has supplied its conventional island equipment for 50% of China’s total operational installed nuclear capacity.
As the market leader for generator service in the UK and with a strong heritage in generator technology, Alstom provides a wide range of technology-specific training aimed at developing skills in generator technology. Alstom’s Generator Service Factory repairs and re-engineers large, complex generator units for power stations in the UK and overseas.
Henri Argenson, General Manager at Alstom Generator Product Centre, Stafford, said: “We’re very proud that such pioneering technology has been produced right here in Stafford. We have an incredibly talented local workforce and the production of the stator is a true demonstration of their skills and commitment.
“Overseas customers are an incredibly important part of our business. The Far East market is a particular focus, so we’re delighted with the successful completion of the Daya Bay Stator contract.”
