German engineering company Voith has secured a contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to conduct cavitation repairs at all three units at the Gavins Point dam in Nebraska.
The scope of contract of Voith includes welding, field machining and painting of the units’ water-passage surfaces to repair pitting and other damage. These repairs are expected to restore the original profiles, improving the efficiency of operation and the useful life of the equipment.
Each of the Kaplan units deliver 44MW and the total installed capacity of the Gavins Point dam is 132MW. The units will be restored using Voith’s welding and machining processes, the company claimed.
Voith North America corporate & market communications director, Sheryl Zapcic said: “The Voith team is proud to support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District at Gavins Point with our more than 140 years of experience and capabilities in the design, manufacture, repair and modernization of US hydropower equipment.”
Gavins Point dam was commissioned in 1957
Considered to be the most-downstream hydroelectric dam on the Missouri River, the Gavins Point dam impounds Lewis and Clark Lake. It is located over the river between Cedar County, Nebraska and Yankton County, South Dakota and was commissioned in 1957.
Voith Hydro Account Management vice president Rick Titemore said: “With more than 400 U.S. employees and a full service hydropower mechanical manufacturing and repair facility in York, Pennsylvania, USACE projects with Voith support U.S. jobs and the U.S. economy while providing essential maintenance and modernization of the USACEs extensive and aging hydropower fleet.”
Last month, the German company launched OnCare.Asset, an asset and workforce management software for the hydropower industry. The app-based software solution offers customers tracking and storing asset and workforce data.
Backed by Voith’s decades of technical assistance expertise in the hydropower market and deep domain know-how, the software provides maintenance and management of hydropower plants, from planning, servicing and documentation through cost control to spare parts management.
