Son La one step closer to boosting hydroelectricity

The rotor of turbine 2 at the Son La hydropower plant has been installed.

The 1,000-tonne rotor, which is 15.9 metres in diameter and 2.8 metres in height, is the heaviest of its kind in Vietnam.

The installment is expected to facilitate the timely commencement of the turbine’s operations, scheduled for April 2011.

Turbine 1, which started operations on December 17, has generated nearly 300 million kWh. The six-turbine plant, located in the northern provinces of Son La, Lai Chau and Dien Bien, is also the biggest of its kind in the Southeast Asia.

The plant is expected to generate up to 10.2 billion kWh of power a year once it is fully operational in 2012.
By the end of 2010, total investment in the plant had increased 58.06 per cent to US$2.92 billion, surpassing the initial estimate of between US$1.55 billion US$1.85 billion in 2002.