If you are currently undergoing or considering uprating and refurbishing hydro power plants, then be sure not to miss IWP&DC's next International conference and exhibition.

To be held from 10-12 December 2001 in the Czech Republic’s picturesque city of Prague, Uprating and Refurbishing Hydro Power Plants VIII will address the most important issues for you.

Areas to be covered include:

•Approaches to refurbishment: condition monitoring and diagnostics; comparing design and current performance and assessing deterioration; selecting scope and timetable for refurbishment; cost-benefit analysis and financing the project.

•Machinery: repair versus replacement, achieving and regaining optimum performance, experience of upgrading turbines, runners, generators, new control systems.

•Civil works: assessing and assuring dam safety, increasing dam height – planning, experience and cost/benefit analysis; flood discharge works and spillway capacity; upgrading, renewing and repairing penstocks and other underground works; sedimentation control; retrofitting hydro power capacity to existing civil works.

•Environment: improving groundwater conditions; ecological requirements around dams and hydro works.

•Case studies: with innovative or unusual technical and financial developments, or where financial, technical or environmental challenges have been overcome.

Are you interested in sharing your experiences with colleagues and submitting a paper on any of the above? If so, send an abstract of up to 500 words, in English, with full contact details for the author(s) to:

Julie Rossiter, Wilmington Publishing, Wilmington House, Church Hill, Wilmington, Dartford, Kent, DA2 7EF, UK, Tel: +44 1322 394 706, Fax: +44 1322 276743, Email: jrossiter@wilmington.co.uk.

Please note the conference language will be English. Papers may be accepted for oral or poster presentation and will be accepted only if the author or co-author undertakes to attend the meeting to present the paper.

The deadline for receipt of abstracts is 31 May 2001 and authors will be notified at the end of June whether or not their paper has been accepted for presentation at the conference.

Papers will be assessed under the guidance of conference chairman Geoff Sims, vice president, icold; consultant, Brown & Root.

For all general enquiries contact Julie Rossiter as above.

Uprating and refurbishing Hydro Power Plants VIII is supported by CZCOLD



Exhibition

There will be an exhibition running alongside the conference giving companies the chance to display their products and services. This will take place immediately outside the conference room within the tea/coffee serving areas, giving exhibitors an opportunity to gain access to an audience of the industry’s leading professionals at this very respected Uprating and Refurbishing Hydro Power Plants event.