Major Hydro Generation Components Moving Down Ohio River

COLUMBUS, Ohio and YORK, P.a., Feb. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Another milestone has been achieved in the nation's largest deployment of new run-of-the-river hydroelectric generation being undertaken by American Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP). On February 24, major components of the generators for the Cannelton Hydroelectric Plant, one of four under construction by AMP at existing dams on the Ohio River, left the manufacturing facility in Hannibal, Ohio en route to the site, approximately 594 miles downriver.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130227/SF67813)

The stators and distributors, manufactured by Voith Hydro at the facility they opened in Hannibal (the distributors were manufactured at Voith Hydro's facility in York, PA with final assembly in Hannibal), were loaded on to a barge and are expected to arrive at the site on the Cannelton Dam, near Hawesville, KY on Thursday, Feb. 28. The stator is a key component of the generator and typically one of the larger components of the power unit of a hydroelectric project. The particular stator for the Cannelton project is 30 feet in outside diameter, 10 feet in height and weighs 150 tons. Three stators, along with three distributors are on the barge making their way down river.

York, Pennsylvania-based Voith Hydro and AMP worked closely with U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and State of Ohio officials to locate the manufacturing facility in Hannibal in support of the more than $420 million contract AMP signed with Voith Hydro to provide generators and turbines for the four AMP projects under construction. The Hannibal manufacturing facility employs 56 workers.

"The hydroelectric projects are an important part of our members' long-term power supply strategy," said AMP President/CEO Marc Gerken. "Construction on the four projects is proceeding as anticipated, with Cannelton being the first to start construction and the farthest along in the construction cycle. The shipment of the stators is a very visible indication of the construction progress. These generation facilities will have a life expectancy of 80-100 years, and will be producing clean, renewable and sustainable power for generations to come."

"The shipment of stators to the Cannelton Hydroelectric Project is exciting for Voith, AMP, and the thousands of households and businesses that will benefit from Cannelton's clean and affordable hydroelectric power," said Voith Hydro U.S. President and CEO Kevin Frank. "Their arrival at Cannelton represents a major milestone in the expansion of hydropower across the United States. As AMP has shown with its Ohio River projects, expanding hydropower has the added benefit of creating jobs across the country. We look forward to continuing our work with AMP on these very important projects."

AMP's hydroelectric projects will add more than 300 MW of new, renewable generation to the region. The Cannelton project will employ approximately 400 construction workers at peak. Once operational, the facility will employ 7-9 permanent operators and annually contribute $2.5-3 million to the local economy. The plant is scheduled to begin commercial operation in the fall of 2014. The projects are an important component of AMP's diversified power supply portfolio, which also includes advanced coal, natural gas, solar, wind, and landfill gas generation. In January 2011, AMP also launched a large, multi-state energy efficiency program that has saved in excess of 620,000 MWh since its start.

ABOUT AMP

American Municipal Power, Inc. is the nonprofit wholesale power supplier and services provider for 130 member municipal electric systems in the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia and Delaware. Combined, these public utilities serve more than 627,000 customers. AMP members receive their power supply from a diversified resource mix that includes wholesale power purchases through AMP and the open market and energy produced at AMP and member-owned generating facilities utilizing fossil fuel, hydroelectric, wind and other renewable resources. The organization is focused on sustainability and increased use of renewable generation resources. AMP currently has four run-of-the-river hydroelectric projects under construction on the Ohio River. Combined these four projects will add 300 MW of new hydro capacity to the region. AMP is pursuing additional hydro, solar, wind and landfill gas projects. For additional information, visit AMP's Web site at www.amppartners.org.

ABOUT VOITH

Voith sets standards in the markets energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transportation & automotive. Founded in 1867, Voith employs almost 42,000 people, generates 5.7 billion euro in sales, operates in about 50 countries around the world and is today one of the biggest family-owned companies in Europe.

Voith Hydro is a Group Division of Voith and—with a workforce of over 5,000 employees and a sales volume of more than 1.3 billion euro in the business year 2011/2012—belongs to the worldwide leading companies for hydro power equipment. In the United States, Voith Hydro is headquartered in York, PA and employs over 500 people. For additional information, visit Voith's website at www.voith.com.

AMP Contact:
Kent Carson
614-578-5389 (cell)
[email protected]

Voith Contact:
Lewis Lowe
202-333-2234
[email protected]

SOURCE Voith