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The Siah Bishe Pumped Storage Power Plant Project
(October 2003)

The Siah Bishe Pumped Storage Power Plant Project with an installed capacity of approximately 1'000 MW (4 x 250 MW units) is located on the Chalus River in the Mazandaran Province, Iran, about 125 km north of Tehran. Owner of the scheme is the "Iran Water & Power Resources Development Co.". The project includes an upper and lower reservoir with an underground powerhouse and has the following main characteristics:

Upper Reservoir      
Dam Type CFRD  
  Crest elevation 2'410.15 m a.s.l.
  Height 85.00 m1
  Live volume 3.50 x 106 m3
  Spillway capacity 170.00 m3/s
Lower Reservoir      
Dam Type CFRD  
  Crest elevation 1'911.50 m a.s.l.
  Height 104.00 m1
  Live volume 3.60 x 106 m3
  Spillway capacity 890.00 m3/s
Diversion Tunnels      
Upper Dam Diameter 2.95 m1
Lower Dam Diameter 4.00 m1
Powerhouse      
4 Francis turbines Maximum head 511.30 m1
Design flows Generation mode 130.00 m3/s
  Pumping mode 100.00 m3/s
Water Conveyance      
2 Headrace tunnels Diameter 5.70 m1
2 Inclined shafts Diameter 5.00 m1
2 Tailrace tunnels Diameter 6.00 m1
Caverns      
Powerhouse cavern LxWxH 130x22x42 m1
Transformer cavern LxWxH 182x13x22 m1

Initial studies for the Project began already in 1970 and construction started in the second half of the eighties following several years of planning. After carrying out some parts of the project, such as two diversion tunnels, access tunnels, portions of the two headrace tunnels and the powerhouse drainage gallery, all construction activities came to a standstill in 1992 for about 10 years. The design of the project has been updated from 1999 on until 2002, and this phase was pursued by a new tendering process.

Siah Bishe Project Area   Construction works resumed definitively in August 2003 and Colenco Power Engineering Ltd., in a joint-venture with two Iranian Engineering Companies, will act as Owner's Engineer throughout the whole realization period of this ambitious project that is scheduled to be completed in 2008.
   
Siah Bishe Project Area  

Peter Lüpold - Hydropower Plants

Colenco takes care of Transportation of Waste Containers from Lucens to Swiss Central Interim Storage Facility (Zwilag) in Würenlingen (October 2003)

Colenco received from NGA (National Society for Promoting Industrial Nuclear Technology) a contract for:

  • Calculation of strains and stresses of the containers and proof that they will remain sealed during transportation
  • Detailed design of steel frame structure fixing the containers onto the multi-axis heavy duty trailers (see picture)
  • Quality assurance of the delivered equipment
  • Supervision of crane loading and fixing of the containers prior to transportation.

Colenco witnessed thus the last chapter of Swiss Nuclear pioneer history: the safe transportation of remaining contaminated parts of the Lucens reactor which was dismantled after a severe accident in 1969. These residues are now stored at Zwilag.

Dr. Peter Leister - Nuclear Technology
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