2025-09-30 Voith completes second turbine upgrade at New Zealand’s Roxburgh hydropower station
- Milestone achieved: Halfway mark reached in the four-turbine modernization project
- Operational efficiency: Second unit commissioned with improved timeline, meeting all performance guarantees
The original 1950s turbine (left) has been replaced by a new Voith turbine (right).
HEIDENHEIM/Roxburgh. Voith has successfully commissioned the second upgraded turbine unit at New Zealand’s Roxburgh Hydropower Station, advancing its modernization initiative for the 1950s-era facility. Owned by Contact Energy, four out of the eight original 40 MW units are undergoing phased replacement, with the project now halfway through the upgrade process.
The newly commissioned unit, following rigorous testing and a 10 day endurance run, was handed over to the customer for commercial operation in mid-August 2025. Leveraging insights gained from the first turbine upgrade completed in December 2024, Voith – supported by its New Zealand-based subcontractors – successfully reduced the on-site implementation time by over a month. Efficiency tests in January 2025 confirmed that the first unit met all contractual performance guarantees.
The third turbine, manufactured at Voith’s facility in India, arrived at Port Chalmers, New Zealand, on August 31, 2025. It will be installed following the ongoing dismantling of the existing unit. Each new stainless-steel runner, weighing 28.5 tonnes and measuring 3.9 meters in diameter, is engineered to maximize energy output.
For details on Voith’s hydropower modernization, please visit: Hydro Modernization | Voith.
About the company
The Voith Group is a global technology company. With its broad portfolio of systems, products, services and digital applications, Voith sets standards in the markets of energy, paper, raw materials and transport & automotive. Founded in 1867, the company today has around 22,000 employees, sales of € 5.2 billion and locations in over 60 countries worldwide and is thus one of the larger family-owned companies in Europe.
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The Group Division Voith Hydro is part of the Voith Group and a leading full-line supplier as well as trusted partner for equipping hydropower plants. Voith develops customized, long-term solutions and services for large and small hydro plants all over the world. Its portfolio of products and services covers the entire life cycle and all major components for large and small hydro plants, from generators, turbines, pumps and automation systems, right through to spare parts, maintenance and training services, and digital solutions for intelligent hydropower.
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