October summs up 60 years since the commissioning of hydroelectric unit 2 of CHE Stejaru, the first high-power hydropower plant on inland rivers in Romania, a moment that was practically marking the birth of hydropower in Romania, Hidroelectrica announced.
The facility is the oldest in the series of large “hydropower organizations”, its beginnings being marked by the construction of the Izvoru Muntelui dam and the Stejaru CHE (today Dimitrie Leonida).
“Dimitrie Leonida” hydroelectric power plant, administratively belonging to the Bistrița Hydroelectric Branch, is located 15 km downstream of the dam, in the village of Stejaru, in the village of Pângărați. It is a high-fall power plant with pressure storage (supply gallery) and accumulation lake, balance castle, forced pipes, distributors, power plant, quieting pool and escape channel. The gross fall used is of 149 m (94m occur due to the dam and 55m by cutting the river loop between Izvorul Muntelui and Stejaru by shunt).
The plant itself is of semi-aerial type, includes 6 generating sets with Francis turbines with vertical axis, of which 4 with an installed capacity of 27.50 MW, one of 50 MW and one of 55 MW (freshly refurbished). The internal handling of the aggregates is done with two overhead cranes with a capacity of 125 tons load. The water evacuation is made downstream through a calming basin, from where it reaches Pângărați Lake through a 1,185 m escape channel. The outdoor power station has a supply voltage of 110/220 kV.
“We want to continue the remarkable work begun by our predecessors and rise to the level of what they dreamed of for future generations. We have not only the will, but also the financial capacity to complete the investments we have undertaken and we are constantly fighting in this direction, whether it is refurbishments, modernizations or new projects,” says Bogdan Badea, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hidroelectrica.
For the refurbishment of Dimitrie Leonida – Stejaru HPP, Hidroelectrica signed in 2015 a turnkey works contract worth 75 million euro. This year, the process of refurbishment of the first hydro unit (HA no. 6) out of a total of six was completed, which, in addition to entering a new life cycle and commercial operation, also benefited from an increase in power from 50 to 55 MW.