Do you know where the Bukhtarma hydroelectric station is located? In this article we will tell you about the safest hydraulic construction on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
General information
Bukhtarma hydroelectric station began its work in the second half of the twentieth century. Fully commissioned in 1968. This object is located near the town of Serebryansk on the Irtysh River. It was built on a dam type. It consists of several buildings.
The right bank dam is made of concrete. The height of the Bukhtarma hydroelectric station is 80 meters. The spillway reaches a length of 18 m. The dam building of the power plant is 212 meters. The single-line shipping lock has four cameras. This hydraulic object was designed by “Lenhydroproject”. Originally planned to generate electricity at 675 megawatts. Today, this figure has been increased by 100 megawatts.
With a pressure of 61 meters in the building of the power plant there are 9 hydraulic units designed according to the radial-axial principle. Pressure structures lined up at a length of 430 meters, due to this a large Bukhtarma reservoir was formed, including Lake Zaysan. Unfortunately, many fish die when a spillway occurs. The Bukhtarma hydroelectric station, which has an 80-meter dam, is the largest in Kazakhstan. From the height of a 30-story building, 2800 cubic meters of water is discharged in one second. This is an amazing sight. Bukhtarminskaya is recognized in the world as the safest hydroelectric power station.
Brief historical background
The design of power plants began back in 1951. It was at the time when the Ust-Kamenogorsk hydroelectric station was commissioned. The construction of this facility began in 1953. After 7 years, namely in 1960, the first unit was launched. In order for the hydroelectric power station to start operating at full capacity, the designers and engineers needed another 6 years. When the dam was already built, a backwater spread to a height of 67 meters spread over the Black Irtysh for 100 kilometers.
Due to this phenomenon, the level of Lake Zaysan increased by 6 meters. Consequently, the area of this lake has tripled, therefore today it is considered part of the Bukhtarma reservoir. Initially, the Bukhtarma hydroelectric station was equipped with turbines with a capacity of 75 megawatts. After some time, the object participated in the experiment, during which a diagonal hydraulic turbine was installed in the engine room. Then another turbine was installed, which had a two-water spiral chamber.
Not so long ago, a turbine hall and hydrogenerators were reconstructed at hydroelectric power plants. For the purposes of a large-scale program of technical weapons, turbine impellers were also replaced.
Why Bukhtarma hydroelectric station is considered the best in the world
The hydroelectric power station was built by the Soviet Union. During construction, engineers first applied the “hard concrete” method. After 50 years, namely in 2002, concrete samples were taken from 60 points of the dam for analysis. Research was conducted by two independent laboratories. The results were overwhelming. They proved an increase in the strength of concrete compared to the period when it was built. Thus, in 2002, this facility was recognized as the best in the world in the field of hydropower.
This hydroelectric station in the Republic of Kazakhstan is considered one of the most promising. Electricity has the lowest cost compared to other power plants in the Irtysh.