Alstom inaugurated a new production
facility for steam turbines, gas turbines,
large turbo-generators and related equipment
for the North American fossil fuel and
nuclear power generation market. It will
also retrofit existing steam turbines with
leading edge technology. The new facility,
located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA,
results from an investment of approximately
$300 million.
The Chattanooga factory is equipped with
a balancing facility that allows the manufacture
of the largest turbines in the world,
Alstom's ARABELLETM 1,700-mw class
nuclear steam turbine. The turbo-generator
components will also be manufactured in
this facility. Its size is particularly relevant
to the nuclear industry, both for retrofitting
existing equipment to make it more efficient
or building the equipment that will be needed
for the next generation of power plants.
Chattanooga is an ideal place for the
manufacture of large power generation
equipment because of its central location
in the country and its excellent access to
road, rail and waterways. The facility features
an on-site barge dock with a lifting
capacity of up to 1,000 tonnes, an Alstom
statement said.
The Alstom facility was expanded in line
with the requirements for Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Gold certification-a US benchmark for high
performance green buildings. For example,
demolition debris was re-used, insulated
sidings and roofs were installed, skylights
will substantially reduce electricity consumption
for lighting, process heat will be
recovered to improve the efficiency of the
HVAC system and rain water will be collected
to irrigate the landscape.