Voith bags service contract for Santa Uxía hydropower plant

Voith Hydro has won a contract for two Francis runners for the Santa Uxía hydropower station in Galicia, northwestern Spain.

The project marks the first major agreement with plant operator XEAL. It forms part of a broader modernisation initiative to improve the station’s operating range without requiring any changes to the existing technical layout.

As part of the scope of work, Voith will dismantle, install, support, and refurbish selected components, aiming to increase hydraulic efficiency, reduce wear, and extend the machine's lifetime.

Aitor Aierbe, Head of HyService and Sales at Voith Hydro, commented in a statement: “This order is a strong signal of customer confidence and sets the stage for future cooperation," adding that they are already beginning to explore other service opportunities and digital extensions.  

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XEAL operates a series of cascade hydroelectric power plants on the Xallas River with a total installed capacity of 167MW.

These plants include:

• The Fervenza reservoir, with the Fervenza I and Fervenza II power plants.
• Ponte Olveira reservoir, with the Ponte Olveira I and Ponte Olveira II plants.
• Castrelo reservoir, with the Novo Castrelo and Castrelo power plants.
• Santa Uxía reservoir, with the Santa Uxía I, Santa Uxía II and Novo Pindo power plants.

Hydroelectric exploitation covers the final 16 kilometres of the Xallas River before it flows into the sea.

The Santa Uxía dam is located at the end of the river, providing additional regulation to that offered by the Fervenza headwater reservoir.