Voith Hydro is leading the development and implementation of additional solutions to make the Frades 2 pumped storage plant in Portugal even more efficient.
The work is part of Voith Hydro’s role in the XFLEX HYDRO (Hydropower Extending Power System Flexibility) project, a new EU energy innovation initiative to demonstrate how smart hydropower technologies can deliver a low-carbon, reliable and resilient power system.
Voith supplied the Frades 2 plant with two variable speed pump turbines each with a rated output of 390 MW, two asynchronous motor generators with a rated output of 440 MVA each, the frequency converter and control systems as well as the hydraulic steel components.
Within the XFLEX HYDRO project, Voith Hydro aims to extend power range through the integration of hydraulic short circuit technology for variable speed machines and so increase the dispatchability of renewable energies.
Another goal is to enhance high-quality and flexible ancillary services of the electric power system by implementing synthetic inertia and frequency containment reserve. By optimising plant operation through the application of multidimensional hillchart methods and optimised mode change procedures, maintenance intervals will be improved and outage times minimised.
