In recent years, it has been decided in Russia to actively develop the Far Eastern regions. The first thing that needs to be done in the life support and development stimulation chain is the full generation and distribution of electricity. For these purposes, a cascade of hydropower plants located on the Bureya River is being built in the Amur Region. In 2003, the Bureyskaya station was launched; in 2016, it is planned to commission the Nizhne-Bureyskaya hydroelectric station.
History from the 30s
In 1932 of the last century, research was begun on the potential of the Bureya River in the Amur Region. Then the research was carried out by the Hydroproject Institute. An exploratory adit was cut open, reopened at the start of the construction of the first stage of the Bureyskoy cascade. For the Nizhne-Bureyskaya hydroelectric power station, they determined a place in the Doldykan alignment, the location is located 950 meters above the confluence of the Doldykan River in the Bureya.
The first technical project was created in 1959, and in 1986 it was approved. The implementation of large-scale strategic construction was frozen in connection with the transition period of the economy, which began with the collapse of the USSR. Of the planned activities, only resettlement of people from the flooded territories was carried out.
Hes hailing from the 2000s
The construction of the Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP was resumed in 2007, but the project required adjustment. In the initial plan, the installation of three hydraulic units of 107 MW each was laid, but adaptation to modern capabilities required increasing their number to four, but less power (80 MW each). It was also decided to replace the project earthen dam on the right bank with a concrete wall. Other details of the original design have been improved. All changes and approvals were completed in 2011, and then construction began.
Design features
The total length of the pressure front line of the Lower Bureyskaya station (Amur region, Bureysky district) is almost 746 meters, its height at the maximum point is 42 meters. The base of the dam is permeable, this is ensured thanks to the constructions of clay concrete and cementation curtain.
To discharge the water, a concrete spillway dam is constructed with a length of 123 meters and a height of 47.75 meters. Designed and built spillways of the surface type (5 units), which can be blocked segment by segment using gates with hydraulic actuators. Repair gates are provided, manipulations of which are carried out using a gantry crane. The energy of the discharged water will be extinguished in a water well built up from concrete, the length of which is 88 meters.
On the right bank of the Bureya River, a station building is being built. Its length is almost 97 meters, height - about 58 meters. To strengthen the walls, installation of a retaining concrete wall (length 100 meters) is being carried out. The hydroelectric power station will be equipped with four hydroelectric units and hydrogenerators. Installation of equipment is carried out using bridge cranes. The capacity of the Nizhne-Bureyskaya hydroelectric station is 1380 cubic meters of water per second. Electricity will be supplied through 220 kW power lines to two substations: Arkhar and Raichikhinsk. The total number of workers in the construction during the commissioning of the facility is planned to 2300 people.
Reservoir
Nizhnebureyskoe reservoir is formed with the completion of the construction of pressure structures. Useful capacity will be 77 million cubic meters, and full - 2034 million cubic meters of water. The reservoir is 90 kilometers long, with a maximum width of 5 kilometers and an average depth of 13 meters. It is planned that water will be exchanged once per calendar month. It is planned that the filling of the reservoir after the launch of all parts of the Bureyskaya energy cascade will occur within five to six days.
Flooding covers just under 1,000 hectares of agricultural land and nearly 9,000 hectares of forest. Flooding is not affected by settlements. Prior to the launch of the station, it is planned to clean the basin of the future reservoir.
Fulfillment of plans
For the period from 2011 to 2015, the main work was carried out:
- The legal entity of OAO Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP was established.
- A foundation pit was dug for the main facilities of the station.
- Conducted 3 roads, summed up high-voltage power lines.
- A concrete plant was built.
- The main structures of the hydroelectric power station are built.
- Built residential infrastructure of the town around the station.
- By the end of 2015, the main construction works were carried out, including the construction of hydroturbine and hydromechanical facilities with the laying of foundations for hydraulic machines.
- The construction of a channel soil dam has begun.
Grounds for construction
The projected capacity of the Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP is 320 MW, the average annual output is 1.65 billion kW / h, and in winter the planned capacity is 147 MW. The construction of the power plant is due to the need to adjust the uneven daily discharges of the more powerful Bureyskaya HPP, operating upstream of the Amur River. This will avoid sudden fluctuations in the water level in the lower reservoir (downstream).
The electricity generated by the Nizhne-Bureyskaya station will be directed to the needs of Transneft facilities, and more specifically, to the construction of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline, a coal deposit, and the Vostochny cosmodrome. Electricity generated by the station will save about 700 tons of conventional fuel units per year.
Amur Region, Bureysky District, in particular, as a result of the construction of the infrastructure of the cascade of stations, will expand development opportunities, improve the living conditions of the population, attract additional investments and ensure the influx of new labor.
Environmental impact
The places where the Nizhne-Bureyskaya hydroelectric power station is located are almost untouched nature. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the interference with the ecological system; locals claim that the climate has already changed. What will be the consequences will become known only in the distant future.
When designing a cascade of power plants, environmental measures were planned and are being implemented. The floodplains of the Nizhne-Bureyskaya hydroelectric station partially hit the territories of the nature reserves "Urochishche Irkun", "Zheludinsky". To compensate for the loss of the territories of nature protection zones, a new reserve "Bureisky" was created. He combined the two reserves and received additional forest areas in the areas of the upper and lower pools of the Bureyskaya HPP cascade. The total area of the reserve "Bureysky" is 132 thousand hectares.
In 2015, work was carried out to transfer unique samples of flora and fauna from the flood zone. Yuri Gafarov, one of the ecologists who took part in the operation to relocate flora and fauna, said that nests for mandarin ducks and families of Far Eastern storks were built. Huts and feeders for wild animals were also made, a large number of unique plants were transplanted from the flood zone to the territory of the new reserve.
Progress
According to PJSC RusHydro, at the moment there is a planned installation of hydraulic units, and the construction of the dam continues. In June 2016, the height of the dam was 131 meters above sea level, the design level is 140 meters. Piles are hammered for the construction of the dam, work is being carried out without slowing down and adjusting for the winter season. For drilling holes when laying piles in winter, drilling rigs and industrial heating devices were used. Amur frosts did not spare equipment and people, but scheduled work was always carried out on time.
According to S. Nikulin, engineer of the production and technical department of the Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP company, said in August 2016, all work is being carried out according to the planned schedule. In particular, he said that the impeller has already been mounted, mortgages for hydraulic units have been made, and a turbine starter has been installed. According to him, the progress of work is carried out in a strict time frame, where there is no place for haste. The engineer also noted that the fitting of all units of hydraulic units requires almost jewelry accuracy, all units are joined without any gaps. He expressed confidence that the first current in the Far Eastern energy system will come in 2016. However, due to the crisis and a reduction in financing of some facilities, RusHydro PJSC mentions the possibility of postponing the launch of the station for 2017.
The Bureya River was blocked on April 19, 2016, water flows now pass through the spillway systems of the hydroelectric power station. The readiness of concrete structures in the construction of the station is currently estimated at 90%.
Interesting Facts
V.V. Putin came to bookmark the Nizhne-Bureyskaya hydroelectric station and, as a good sign, threw his watch into the first concrete pouring. Bishop Lucian consecrated the start of construction, he also presented the builders with the Golden Angel Growth Monument, which is now installed at the highest point of the hydroelectric power station, becoming a symbol and guardian of the construction site, and subsequently the entire hydroelectric power station cascade.
Today, the complex of stations on the Bureya River is the largest project in post-Soviet Russia, built without reliance on the legacy of the USSR, which illustrates the country's potential and its real capabilities. Many who visited the work area recommend visiting a place where the Nizhne-Bureyskaya hydroelectric power station will begin work very soon. Address in the Amur Region: Bureysky district, Bureisky settlement, Gidrostroiteley microdistrict, building 2, letter 3.