The Kinda hydroelectric power plant is a 56MW hydropower generating station located in the Mandalay region of Myanmar.
It is owned and operated by Electricity Power Generation Enterprise (EPGE), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Electricity and Energy of Myanmar.
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Commissioned in 1985, the project generates approximately 165GWh of electricity annually through two turbine-generator units.
Both the turbine governors of the facility were modernised with the installation of digital turbine governors in September 2020.
Location and site details
The Kinda hydropower station is located on the Panlaung River at Myitthar, in the Mandalay region of Myanmar.
The project site lies approximately 65km south of Mandalay city in the central dry zone of Myanmar. The total project area including the reservoir as well as the irrigated command area extends 80km from north to south and 30km from east to west.
Kinda power plant make-up
The Kinda hydropower complex comprises an above-ground powerhouse with two 28MW vertical-axis Francis turbine generating units operating at a rated water head of 56m (183.7ft). The powerhouse measures 42m-long, 39m-wide, and 53m-high, while the water discharge capacity of the plant is 3952ft3/s.
The powerhouse receives the water supply for electricity generation through two 30.48m-long and 3.20m-diameter penstocks.
The Kinda hydropower project utilises a multi-purpose, zone type, rock-fill dam that stands 72m-tall on the Paulaung River, a tributary of the Ayeyarwady River, approximately 15km upstream of a pre-existing weir. The total length of the dam crest is 625m and the dam volume is approximately 4.25 million cubic metres.
The Kinda reservoir is approximately 15km-long and occupies an area of 29km2, while the live storage capacity of the reservoir is approximately 970.75 million cubic metres.
The dam consists of a gated radial type spillway to release the surplus water. The water released from the dam and the power plant is diverted to two irrigation canals at a weir close to Ingon village, 17km downstream of the Kinda dam.
Kinda hydropower plant modernisation project
The modernisation at the Kinda hydropower plant involved the installation of HyCon digital turbine governors, which are based on Siemens SIMATIC S7 components.
The digital governors facilitate speed control, opening control, power control, water level control, flow control, and pump control.
The electro-hydraulic amplifiers, control valves, and servomotors as corresponding actuators to the digital governors were installed as part of the modernisation.
The revamp also involved the modernisation of hydraulic control systems, including the ring gate controls, butterfly valve controls, spherical valve controls, sleeve valve controls, gate controls for intake and draft tube, torque converter controls, and pressure relief valve controls.
Transmission system
The electricity generated by the Kinda hydropower station is evacuated through two 132kV power transmission lines connecting the National Grid of Myanmar.
The power plant is connected to two substations at Ingon and Thazi. The Kinda- Ingon power line is approximately 73km-long while Kinda- Thazi transmission line runs for approximately 47km.
Contractors involved
Voith Hydro was awarded a contract by EPGE for the modernisation of two turbine governors along with installation and on-site commissioning in early 2020. The original turbine governors were also supplied by Voith Hydro.
Kinda hydropower station background
The Irrigation Department of Myanmar undertook the first investigation of the Kinda hydropower station between 1967 and 1970. Later, a feasibility report was prepared by Engineering Consultants of US in 1975, and it was assessed by the International Development Association (IDA) in 1976.
The construction works began in December 1980, while the full commissioning took place in December 1985. The project required an investment of £164.93m ($270m), which was financed by the World Bank through IDA and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), a development bank based in Germany.
