Overview
The Pelton turbine is an impulse machine that extracts energy from high-velocity jets striking bucket-shaped runners. It is the reference choice for mountainous sites where the net head is high and the flow moderate.
TC HYDRO builds complete Pelton units — runner, nozzles with needles and deflectors, housing, main shaft and governor — each engineered to your measured site data, with spare parts available throughout the plant’s life.
Typical Applications
- Mountain rivers with 100–1000 m net head
- Rural electrification mini-hydro from 100 kW
- Grid-connected plants up to 100 MW
- Replacement runners & spares for existing Pelton plants
Technical Specifications
| Net head | 100–1000 m |
|---|---|
| Unit output | 100 kW–100 MW |
| Configuration | Vertical or horizontal, 1–6 jets |
| Flow regulation | Nozzle, needle & deflector |
Ranges are design envelopes — each unit is engineered to your measured net head and flow.
Scope of Supply — Complete Unit
- Runner
- Main shaft
- Bearings
- Speed governor
- Excitation system
- Inlet valves
- Control system (SCADA)
In-House Machining & Quality Control
Every runner, shaft and part is machined and inspected in our Zhangjiajie factory — 30,000 m² of land with 14,000 m² of production floor — critical tolerances are never outsourced.
- CQ5263 vertical lathe — max turning Ø 6,300 mm, workpiece up to 50 t
- C5235 vertical lathe — Ø 4,000 mm, 30 t
- CW61125 horizontal lathe — 8,000 mm (shafts & rotors)
- Z3080 radial drill — Ø 80 mm
- 315T hydraulic press
- Runner dynamic balancing on our horizontal balancing machine — imbalance measured and corrected
Engineering ranges
| Net head | 100–1,000 m |
|---|---|
| Configuration | horizontal, single or twin jet |
| Unit output (new sets) | commonly 1–5 MW horizontal sets |
| Refurbishment | buckets precision-machined and individually measured |
Selected track record
| Station | Turbine – generator model | Sets |
|---|---|---|
| Enshi Tangkou, Hubei — HPP modernisation | 4 × 11 MW units · oil-free blade pitch + governor retrofit | 4 |
| Laos (export) — Kaplan refurbishment | 15 MW Kaplan unit refurbishment | 1 |
| Guangxi, China — six-station renovation programme | refurbishment across six plants | 6 |
| Gaohua & Jiefangshan, Fujian & Hubei | fixed-blade runners converted to adjustable pitch | 2 |
Full reference list available on request.
CREDENTIALS
