The capacity of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station is the largest in Russia. It is also the sixth largest hydroelectric power station in the world. The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station is located in Khakassia, on the Yenisei River, not far from Sayanogorsk.
The composition of the station facilities
The main object of the station is an arch-gravity dam made of concrete, having a height of 245 meters and a length of 1066 meters. The width of the dam at the base is 110 meters, and along the crest 25 meters. The dam can be divided into four parts. The left-bank and right-bank blind parts are 246 m and 298 m long, respectively, the spillway is 190 meters long, and the station is 332 meters long.
A dam building near the dam is adjacent to the dam.
An unfinished object is a coastal spillway under construction (put into operation in 2011).
General information
Before the 2009 accident, the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Power Station generated 15% of the electric energy produced by Russian hydroelectric power stations and 2% of the country's total electric power.
The capacity of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is 6400 MW. The power plant is the flagship of the domestic hydropower industry. If we take into account the Maine hydroelectric complex, the capacity of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station is 6721 MW. On average, the station gives the country 24.5 billion kWh per year. The maximum output was reached in 2006, when a large summer flood allowed the station to produce 26.8 billion kWh of electric energy.
The dam of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station is one of the highest in the world. Reliability that allows it to withstand the pressure of water is achieved by 60 percent by its own weight and by 40 percent through the use of the upper belt of arches, which transfers the load to the coastal rock formations. For this purpose, the dam during construction was cut into the rock of the left bank by 15 meters and the right bank by 10 meters. The dam is also associated with the base of the channel by tapping to a depth of 5 meters. Such an innovative design made it possible to use a 20% less amount of concrete, compared with structures of gravity type.
The hydroelectric power station houses ten hydraulic units with a capacity of 640 MW each. The dam is unique, a similar arch-gravity type of structure in Russia is only at the Gergebil hydroelectric power station, but its capacity is noticeably lower than that of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. The Yenisei River allows to achieve much greater power than the Karakoisu River.
Currently, the dam spillway has a throughput of 13,600 m³ / s. Since the maximum inflow of water to the site was recorded at a rate of 24,400 m³ / s, it was decided to build an additional spillway. This structure is designed to increase the total capacity of spillways by 8000 m³ / s.
The Sayano-Shushensky hydropower complex organizationally includes the Mainskaya Hydroelectric Power Station, which has a capacity of 321 MW and acts as a counter-regulator.
The reservoir formed by the dam of the hydroelectric power station has a total volume of 31 cubic meters. km (of which useful - 15 cubic km). Its area is 621 square meters. km The water quality of this reservoir is very high, which made it possible to organize fish farming enterprises that grow trout on it. The creation of the reservoir led to the flooding of 35 thousand hectares of agricultural land. I had to transfer more than 2700 buildings. The biosphere reserve is located in the reservoir zone.
The design of the station was carried out by the Lengidroproekt Institute.
Economic importance
As of 2001, the cost of electric energy at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station was 1.62 kopecks. per kWh The level of profitability of electricity production at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is more than twice the profitability of thermal power plants. In addition, it is a powerful means of compensating for the peak differences in the generation of electric energy in the Russian energy system.
The main consumer of electricity produced by the power plant (75%) is the aluminum plant in Sayanogorsk (Russian Aluminum Corporation). The commissioning of the plant took place in 2006 specifically for the use of energy from a power plant, which was not in demand due to insufficient power transmission lines.
Tourism
The station itself and its engine room are interesting as tourist sites. The power station also has its own museum. Since the object is a regime, it can only be visited through regional tour operators.
The area where the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is located (the map is located below) is a place that has gained popularity among tourists. Previously, there was even a special observation deck from which you could best see the station. Now a memorial dedicated to the builders of the hydroelectric power station has been erected in this place near the dam. On the banks of the Yenisei rises the five-headed peak Borus, considered among the Khakasses a national shrine, like the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station. A map of Khakassia allows you to better find out where these places are.
An observation deck on the left bank allows you to see a white rock two hundred meters high. It represents part of the Kibik-Cordon marble deposit, which occupies several kilometers of the Yenisei coast. One of the parts of the road leading from Sayanogorsk to Cheryomushki lies directly along the marble deposit. The difficult geological conditions and rocky spurs prevented her from laying, which made her laying one of the most expensive in the world.
Construction
The final decision to begin the construction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station was made in 1962. The construction began in 1968. In 1975, during the construction of the hydroelectric power station, the Yenisei river channel was blocked off, and already in 1978, with the launch of the first hydraulic unit, the station gave the first current. From 1979 to 1985, nine more hydropower units were launched sequentially. In 1988, the construction of the station was basically completed. In 2005, work began on the construction of a coastal spillway, which should increase the reliability of the station. In 2011, the spillway was commissioned.
Exploitation
In 2006, serious miscalculations were discovered in the machine room and the spillway of the station. In 2007, a routine inspection revealed significant wear on the booms, which were 20 years old. The construction of hydraulic units with which the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station was equipped was not very successful, prone to increased cracking. Photos published after the accident made it possible to judge the extent of their destruction.
A large program for the modernization and technical re-equipment of the station was developed, the implementation of which began, but the accident at the power plant made adjustments to the plans of the builders.
Crash
The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, the accident on which occurred on August 17, 2009, caused great damage.
In the morning in August 2009, an accident occurred at the hydroelectric power station. The second hydraulic unit was destroyed, and the room of the mashroom was flooded with large amounts of water. The 7th and 9th hydroelectric units were badly damaged; the third, fourth and fifth hydroelectric units were filled up with debris. This led to the destruction of the machine room from which the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station was controlled. The accident caused the death of 75 people.
The tragedy was thoroughly investigated. The investigation report was published in October 2009.
Recovery
New hydraulic units to replace the damaged ones were ordered by Power Machines. Already in 2010, units No. 6, No. 5, No. 4 and No. 3 were in operation, which made it possible to bring the station's capacity to 2560 MW - 40% of the nominal. At the same time, work was underway on the dismantling of unit No. 2 and the construction of a coastal spillway, culminating in successful hydraulic tests. The station generated 10 billion kWh of electricity.
So the first stage of reconstruction was completed, as a result of which four hydroelectric units of the station were put into operation, the least affected.
In 2011, the second stage of reconstruction began. The construction of the second spillway phase was completed, and by the end of the year the entire spillway complex was put into operation.
In addition, a new hydraulic unit (No. 1) was commissioned.
Electricity generation in 2011 amounted to more than 18 billion kWh.
In 2012, three new hydraulic units were launched: No. 7, No. 8, No. 9, after which the capacity of the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Power Station amounted to 3840 MW.
In 2013, three new hydraulic units were launched: No. 10, No. 6, No. 5, which made it possible to bring the station's capacity to 4480 MW.
In 2013, more than 24 billion kWh was produced at the station.
In 2014, the third stage of the reconstruction of the station started. As part of its implementation, in 2014 the hydraulic unit No. 4 gave current.
At the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, a complete re-equipment with new hydraulic units of Power Machines OJSC was carried out, which have the best parameters and meet the stringent safety and reliability requirements. The capacity of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station has become equal to the nominal - 6400 MW. The maximum efficiency of new hydraulic turbines reached 96.6%, and the maximum service life of the machines was increased to 40 years. Now the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, whose photo immediately after the accident and today is very different, is working at full capacity.