home Trips The largest hydroelectric power station in Russia (47 photos). Hydroelectric power station - what is it? List of the largest hydroelectric power stations in Russia Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP. Recovery

The largest hydroelectric power station in Russia (47 photos). Hydroelectric power station - what is it? List of the largest hydroelectric power stations in Russia Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP. Recovery

The Yenisei River in the southeast of the Republic of Khakassia in the Sayan Canyon at the exit of the river into the Minusinsk Basin... November 4, 1961, the first team of surveyors from the institute? Lenhydroproekt? arrived in the mining village of Maina with the aim of examining 3 competing sites for the construction of a hydroelectric power station based on a project of a unique arch-gravity dam. Surveyors, geologists, hydrologists worked in frost and bad weather, 12 drilling rigs in three shifts? from the ice the bottom of the Yenisei. In July 1962, the expert commission chose the final option - the Karlovsky site. 20 km downstream, it was planned to build a satellite of the Sayano-Shushenskaya - counter-regulating Mainskaya hydroelectric station.

The creation of a dam of this type in the conditions of the wide section of the Yenisei and the harsh climate of Siberia had no analogues in the world. The arch-gravity dam of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the most reliable hydraulic structure of this type...

The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station was built by young people. The Komsomol organization in construction arose in 1963, and in 1967 the Central Committee of the Komsomol declared the construction an All-Union shock Komsomol construction project. So, sixteen girls - graduates of the Maina secondary school - decided to become hydraulic engineers, and received the profession of plasterers and painters at the training center in the village of Maina. They created a detachment, which they called “Red Kerchiefs”. Then everyone entered the evening branch of the Divnogorsk Hydraulic Technical College and successfully graduated, after which many continued their studies at universities, combining it with work in construction. And from the city of Makeevka, a detachment of 17 boarding school graduates arrived on Komsomol vouchers. All?Makeevites? They also received specialties at the Mainsk educational plant.

Year after year, construction became more and more “Komsomol” and more and more all-Russian. In the summer of 1979, student construction teams with a total number of 1,700 people took part in the construction of the largest hydroelectric power station, in 1980 - more than 1,300 people from all over the country. By this time, 69 of their own Komsomol youth groups had already been formed during construction, 15 of them were registered.

The largest industrial associations of the USSR created new super-powerful equipment for new hydroelectric power stations. Thus, all the unique equipment of the SSh HPP was manufactured by domestic factories: hydraulic turbines - by the production association of turbine construction? Leningrad Metal Plant?, hydrogenerators - by the Leningrad Production Electrical Engineering Association? Elektrosila?, transformers - by the production association? Zaporozhtransformator?. The turbine runners were delivered to the upper reaches of the Yenisei by a waterway almost 10,000 kilometers long, across the Arctic Ocean. Thanks to an original technical solution - the installation of temporary impellers on the first two turbines, capable of operating at intermediate water pressures - it became possible to begin operating the first stage of the station before the completion of construction and installation work. Thanks to this, the country's national economy received an additional 17 billion kWh of electricity. Having generated 80 billion kWh by 1986, the construction site fully reimbursed the state for the costs that went into its construction. The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station became the top in the cascade of Yenisei hydroelectric power stations and one of the largest in the world: installed capacity - 6.4 million kW and average annual production - 22.8 billion kWh of electricity.

The pressure front of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP is formed by a unique concrete arch-gravity dam with a height of 245 m, a length along the crest of 1074.4 m, a width at the base of 105.7 m and a width at the crest of 25 m. In plan, the dam in the upper 80-meter part is designed in the form of a circular arch , having a radius of 600 m along the upper edge and a central angle of 102°, and in the lower part the dam consists of three-centered arches, and the central section with a coverage angle of 37° is formed by arches similar to the upper ones.

In Russia, hydroelectric power plants are mainly based on gravity-type dams. In addition to the SSHHPP, the Gergebil hydroelectric power station in Dagestan has an arch-gravity dam, but it is much smaller in size.

Currently? Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP named after P. S. Neporozhniy? is the most powerful source of covering peak power surges in the Unified Energy System of Russia and Siberia. One of the main regional consumers of electricity from the SSHPP is the Sayanogorsk aluminum smelter.

The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is of particular interest as a tourism site. The hydroelectric power station has its own museum. Due to the security restrictions of the facility, visits to the museum are carried out through regional excursion bureaus; group visits to the museum are also allowed by prior agreement with the museum administration and the management of the Secondary School of Hydroelectric Power Station. To do this, just call the hydroelectric station and arrange an excursion. It is advisable to agree in advance, since in any case coordination with the security service will be necessary. In the village of power engineers Cheryomushki, located 2 km from the hydroelectric power station, you can stay at the Borus hotel. There is a tram from the village to the hydroelectric power station, which I will tell you about next time. If you have a car, you can leave it at the observation deck in front of the first checkpoint. I also recommend visiting the observation deck in front of the hydroelectric power station at night - the dam and the monument to the builders of the hydroelectric power station are very beautifully illuminated

On November 4, 1961, the first team of surveyors from the Lenhydroproekt Institute arrived in the mining village of Maina with the aim of examining 3 competing sites for the construction of a hydroelectric power station based on a project of a unique arch-gravity dam. Surveyors, geologists, and hydrologists worked in cold and bad weather, 12 drilling rigs in three shifts “probed” the bottom of the Yenisei from the ice. In July 1962, the expert commission chose the final option - the Karlovsky site. 20 km downstream, it was planned to build a satellite of the Sayano-Shushenskaya - a counter-regulatory Mainskaya hydroelectric station.

The creation of a dam of this type in the conditions of the wide section of the Yenisei and the harsh climate of Siberia had no analogues in the world. The arch-gravity dam of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, as the most reliable hydraulic structure of this type...

Source: LiveJournal/4044415.

Calling cards can be purchased here.

13) In the village of power engineers Cheryomushki, located 2 km from the hydroelectric power station, you can stay at the Borus hotel. A tram runs from the village to the hydroelectric power station.

22) The turbine hall of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station was built on the basis of a spatial cross-rod structure consisting of unified metal elements of the Moscow Architectural Institute (MARKHI) system. This design was first used in the construction of hydroelectric power stations... The ceiling and walls of the turbine hall serve as a barrier for equipment and people from the external environment and are designed only for snow and wind loads and a seismic impact of 7 points. At the same time, the loads associated with the action of hydraulic processes during the operation of spillways and units were not taken into account. Due to this omission, due to increased vibration, once every 3 years and always after each idle spillway, it is necessary to inspect thousands of structural units, measuring the gaps in the connecting units. Also, the presence of snow cover on the roof more than 20 cm thick should not be allowed. Prices for roofing work are now high.

23) The station was visited by many specialists from different countries of the world, who noted the special architectural expressiveness and elegance of the turbine hall, which are largely determined by the appearance of the design of the MARCHI system. This is evidence that the design organization paid such attention to the architectural appearance that it was crowned with success. The architectural and artistic part of the project for the upper structure of the turbine hall was so thoroughly worked out, so insufficient attention was paid to its technological execution.

28) Installation site with parts of a dismantled hydraulic unit: a place where electrical installation work will soon be carried out.

29) Three devices next to the traverse for removing the generator are parts not of the generator itself, but of the KAG-15.75 generator switch.

30) There is only one such switch left at the station, the rest have been replaced with modern and more reliable ABB HEC8 ones.

31) Currently, the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP is the most powerful source of covering peak power surges in the Unified Energy System of Russia and Siberia. One of the main regional consumers of electricity is the Sayanogorsk aluminum smelter, located not far from here near the city of Sayanogorsk. Central control panel of the hydroelectric power station.

Six years have passed since the terrible accident in 2009 at the famous Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station; restoration work was completed here a year ago, and renovation and finishing of the premises is now underway. I propose to take a tour of the largest hydroelectric power station in Russia, evaluate the volume of work done and once again be amazed at the scale of the largest hydropower complex in Russia.

Photos and text by Marina Lystseva 1. From Abakan airport to the village of Cheryomushki, near which the construction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station (SSHPP) began in 1963, is an hour and a half drive. After Sayanogorsk there are noticeably fewer cars, the road ahead ends near the hydroelectric power station, and then you can only get to the crest of the dam with special passes.

2. From Cheryomushki, where most of the station’s workers live, there is a free tram running to the SSHHPP, departing every hour.

3. Travel time along the banks of the Yenisei takes about 15 minutes, the distance from the final stations is less than six kilometers.

4. The tram drives right up to the entrance. Everything is serious here - an armored booth and anti-tank hedgehogs. After the terrorist attack at the Baksan hydroelectric power station in Kabardino-Balkaria, the security of all RusHydro facilities was strengthened.

5. After a serious inspection, like at an airport, we go to the territory of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. The scale is quite difficult to reproduce, but a person against a concrete wall would look like a hard-to-see pixel. The installed capacity of the SSHHPP is 6400 MW, the average annual production is 23.5 billion kWh of electricity. The pressure front of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP is formed by a concrete arch-gravity dam - a hydraulic structure unique in size and complexity of construction. The design of a high-pressure arch-gravity dam has no analogues in world and domestic practice.

6. The chapel was opened at the foot of the SSHPP on the first anniversary of the accident. Let me remind you that a man-made disaster occurred in the turbine room on August 17, 2009. As a result of the destruction of hydraulic unit No. 2, water was released from the turbine crater. The flow of water flooded the turbine hall, damaged power and auxiliary equipment, and collapsed the building structures of the turbine hall building. All ten hydraulic units failed. 75 people died.

8. An original fountain with a ball-logo “RusHydro”, from which dozens of water streams flow, symbolizing hydroelectric power stations and flowing down onto the map of Russia.

10. First of all, we climb and head to the brain of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station - the control room. The scoreboard is completely electronic; before the equipment was replaced, it was large and iron with a bunch of windows, sensors and arrows.

12. On the one hand, Moscow time, on the other, local time in Krasnoyarsk. Monitoring the condition of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP dam is a continuous process.

13. The control room window offers a good view of the hydroelectric power station. The height of the structure is 245 m, the length along the ridge is 1074.4 m, the width at the base is 105.7 m and at the ridge - 25 m. In plan, it has the form of a circular arch with a radius of 600 m with a central angle of 102 degrees. The SSHHPP dam is the highest in Russia and the 13th highest in the world. Until the Chinese built their dams, we were among the top five...

14. In the turbine room of the hydroelectric power station there are 10 hydraulic units with a capacity of 640 MW each with radial-axial turbines. The design head is 194 meters, the maximum static head is 220 m.

16. The same area with hydraulic unit No. 2. The new one was put into operation last fall. Now, after a year of operation, according to the manufacturer’s rules, the unit is stopped for routine inspection and repair.

17. Finishing work in the machine room is nearing completion. By the way, when entering the hall, you are amazed that everything around is decorated with granite and marble, and at the same time they do it with high quality, for many years.

18. There is no need for the simultaneous launch of all ten hydraulic units - five are currently operating here at the same time and their power is enough to service the Sayan aluminum smelter and, moreover, regulate the entire energy system of Siberia. The hydroelectric power station operates at full capacity mainly during high water...

20. The height of the ceilings in the turbine room is 25 meters; during the accident, everything here was filled with water up to the level of the balcony. Several people survived by clinging to the beams above, and several were found in the lower rooms, where a small air cushion had been created...

21. On the left there is a rail for a semi-gantry crane; there are two of them in the turbine hall with a lifting capacity of 500 tons each; they are used for the installation of hydraulic units.

22. The beginning of the biography of the Sayano-Shushensky hydropower complex can be considered November 4, 1961. In 1964, work began on the preparatory stage of construction - the construction of roads, housing, and the creation of an industrial base. In 1968, the filling of the right bank pit of the first stage began. In 1970, the first cubic meter of concrete was laid, and on October 11, 1975, the Yenisei was blocked.

23. The hydraulic units of the largest hydroelectric power station in Russia were launched one by one from 1978 to 1985. By 1988, construction of the station was generally completed. The reservoir was first filled to its design level in 1990. The hydroelectric power station was put into permanent operation in 2000.

25. The amount of active power of the hydraulic unit is 620 MW. Using the example of a kettle, this is explained as follows: to operate one average static electric kettle, you need 2 kW, respectively, at the same time one hydraulic unit can connect 310 thousand of these kettles.

28. The maximum capacity of the operational spillway at a normal retaining level (NPL - 539 m) is 11,700 cubic meters/s.

29. We walked closer to the dam itself. Turbine water conduits with a diameter of 7.5 meters pass under the reinforced concrete lining 1.5 meters thick - from below it seems that they are narrowing, but this is not the case. The height to the dam crest is about 150 meters. And below us there is still almost a hundred meters down - concrete and water, the total height of the dam is 245 meters.

30. Finally, we climb to the ridge of the dam, having overcome the serpentine road and a kilometer-long tunnel in the mountain. The length along the crest is 1074.4 m, the width at the base is 105.7 m and at the crest - 25 m. In plan, it has the form of a circular arch with a radius of 600 m with a central angle of 102 degrees.

31. The station part of the dam is located in the left bank part of the river bed and consists of 21 sections with a total length of 331.6 m. From the downstream side, a hydroelectric power station building adjoins it, and a transformer site is located in the adjoining zone at 333 m. The main spillway has 11 holes, which are buried 60 m from the FPU and 11 spillway channels, consisting of a closed section and an open chute, which run along the downstream edge of the dam (pictured to the right). The spillways are equipped with main and maintenance gates.

33. The temporary turbine impeller, which has spent its time, now serves as a monument not far from the entrance.

35. Cavitation of blades after 4 years of operation. The water tried...

36. Let's return to the ridge. Climbers are now working here, cleaning moss from the surface of the concrete walls of the dam, and also inspecting it for the condition of the concrete surface.

37. The stability and strength of the dam under water pressure is ensured both by its own weight (about 60%) and by transferring the hydrostatic load to the rocky shores (by 40%). The dam is cut into the rocky banks to a depth of 15 m. The dam is connected to the base in the riverbed by cutting to a solid rock to a depth of 5 m.

38. A total of 9.7 million cubic meters of concrete were spent on the construction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. Together with the construction of the coastal spillway 10.2. For clarity, with this amount of concrete you can build a two-lane highway from Moscow to Vladivostok! True, only in a straight line, but still...

41. In total, 10 longitudinal galleries are installed in the body of the dam along the upper edge, where about five thousand units of control and measuring equipment are located, and into which cables from more than six thousand sensors installed during construction and operation are routed. All this KIA allows us to assess the condition of the structure as a whole and its individual elements.

43. The catchment area of the river basin, providing inflow to the hydroelectric station site, is 179,900 sq. km. The average long-term flow at the site is 46.7 cubic km. The area of the reservoir is 621 sq. km, the total capacity of the reservoir is 31.3 cubic km, including useful capacity - 15.3 cubic km.

44. The spillway part of the dam, built in 2005-2011, has a length of 189.6 m and is located on the right bank.

45. It seems that the hydroelectric station is close, but in fact it is almost 3.5 kilometers away...

46. To date, the Station has not only been restored, but completely updated, making it the most modern in Russia. Let us wish the hydropower industry successful and trouble-free work!

SShGES named after. P.S. Neporozhniy is a high-pressure hydroelectric power station of the dam type, the most powerful power station in Russia. The main facilities of the station are located in the Karlovo section, at this point the Yenisei flows in a deeply incised canyon-like valley. It is quite difficult to convey the scale of this gigantic structure using photographs. For example, the length of the dam crest is more than one kilometer, and the height is 245 meters, higher than the main building of Moscow State University.

1. The pressure front of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP is formed by a unique concrete arch-gravity dam, which is the tallest dam of this type in the world. If you climb one of the slopes of the gorge, you will see a beautiful view of the dam itself, the lower pool and the Sayano-Shushenskoye reservoir, with a total volume of 31 km³.

3. About eleven thousand different sensors are installed in the body of the dam, monitoring the condition of the entire structure and its elements.

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4. Construction of the dam began in 1968 and lasted seven years. The amount of concrete laid in the dam - 9.1 million m³ - would be enough to build a highway from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok.

5. The diameter of such a “pipe” of the turbine water conduit is 7.5 meters.

6. Top view of the machine room and the administrative building of the station.

7. A few words about the principle of operation of the dam. Any dam, other than storage, must allow a certain amount of water to pass through. Each of the ten hydraulic units of the SSHHPP can pass 350 m³ of water per second. Currently, 4 out of 10 hydraulic units are in operation, and in winter their throughput is quite sufficient.
The white platform is a water well for the operational spillway; this site could easily accommodate a football field for the World Cup, although it would be “football on ice.”

8. During floods and floods, the gates of the operational spillway are opened. It is designed to discharge excess water inflow, which cannot be passed through hydraulic units of a hydroelectric power station or accumulated in a reservoir. The maximum design capacity of the operational spillway is 13,600 m³ (that's five 50-meter swimming pools with 10 lanes) per second! A gentle regime for a water well located under an operational spillway is considered to be a flow rate of 7000 - 7500 m³.

9. The length of the dam crest, taking into account the coastal incisions, is 1074 meters, the width at the base is 105 meters, at the crest - 25. The dam is cut into the rocks of the banks to a depth of 10-15 meters.
Stability and strength are ensured by the action of the dam’s own weight (by 60%) and partially by the thrust of the upper arched part into the banks (by 40%).

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11. Coastal fortifications.

12. From the dam you can see the village of Cheryomushki, which is connected to the hydroelectric power station by a highway and an unusual tram line.
In 1991, several city trams were purchased in Leningrad and converted into two-cabin ones for the railway track without turning rings, left over from the construction of the hydroelectric station. Now free trams run from the village to the hydroelectric power station every hour. Thus, the transport problem for station workers and residents of Cheryomushki was solved, and the only tram line in Khakassia became a landmark of the village.

13. View of the Sayano-Shushenskoye Reservoir from the entrance portal of the coastal spillway.

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14. The coastal spillway consists of an inlet head, two free-flow tunnels, an outlet portal, a five-stage drop and an outlet channel.

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16. Despite the frosts, the ice on the reservoir appears quite late - usually at the end of January.

19. The coastal spillway during periods of large floods will allow for additional discharge of up to 4000 m³/s and, thereby, reduce the load on the station’s operational spillway and ensure a gentle regime in the water well. The entrance head serves to organize a smooth entry of water flow into two free-flow tunnels.

20. In winter, the portals are covered with heat-protective shields.

21. The length of the two tunnels is 1122 meters, with a cross-section of 10x12 meters each, which is enough to accommodate 4 metro tunnels.

23. Exit portal. The estimated speed of water movement at the tunnel exit is 22 m/s.

24. The five-stage drop consists of five quenching wells 100 m wide and 55 to 167 m long, separated by spillway dams. The difference will ensure the damping of the energy of the flow and a calm connection with the river bed. Maximum flow velocities at the entrance to the upper well reach 30 m/s; at the junction with the river bed they decrease to 4–5 m/s.
Three-dimensional video about the launch of the first line of the coastal spillway.

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25. To give you a better idea of the scale, this is an earlier photograph of the construction of the lower well. Author helio .

27. To open the gates, two gantry cranes are installed on the crest of the dam.

28. Yenisei is one of the largest rivers in Russia. The area of its basin, which provides inflow to the hydroelectric station site, is about 180 thousand km², which is three times the size of the Republic of Khakassia.

29. Yenisei - the border between Western and Eastern Siberia. The left bank of the Yenisei ends the great West Siberian plains, and the right bank represents the kingdom of mountain taiga. From the Sayan Mountains to the Arctic Ocean, the Yenisei passes through all the climatic zones of Siberia. Camels live in its upper reaches, and polar bears live in its lower reaches.

30. The work of shamans...

32. Thanks to photographer Valery from the press service of the SSHHPP, who took me to this slope. The view is excellent. True, it was not easy to walk knee-deep in snow, and in some places waist-deep.

The Yenisei River in the southeast of the Republic of Khakassia in the Sayan canyon at the exit of the river into the Minusinsk Basin... On November 4, 1961, the first team of surveyors from the Lenhydroproekt Institute arrived in the mining village of Maina with the aim of examining 3 competing sites for the construction of a hydroelectric power station with project of a unique arch-gravity dam. Surveyors, geologists, and hydrologists worked in cold and bad weather, 12 drilling rigs in three shifts “probed” the bottom of the Yenisei from the ice. In July 1962, the expert commission chose the final option - the Karlovsky site. 20 km downstream, it was planned to build a satellite of the Sayano-Shushenskaya - counter-regulating Mainskaya hydroelectric station.

View of the hydroelectric power station from the observation deck

The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station was built by young people. The Komsomol organization in construction arose in 1963, and in 1967 the Central Committee of the Komsomol declared the construction an All-Union shock Komsomol construction project. So, sixteen girls - graduates of the Maina secondary school - decided to become hydraulic engineers, and received the profession of plasterers and painters at the training center in the village of Maina. They created a detachment that they called “Red Kerchiefs”. Then everyone entered the evening branch of the Divnogorsk Hydraulic Technical College and successfully graduated, after which many continued their studies at universities, combining it with work in construction. And from the city of Makeevka, a detachment of 17 boarding school graduates arrived on Komsomol vouchers. All “Makeevka residents” also received specialties at the Mainsk training plant.
Construction of hydroelectric power station. Photo of the SSHHPP museum

Year after year, construction became more and more “Komsomol” and more and more all-Russian. In the summer of 1979, student construction teams with a total number of 1,700 people took part in the construction of the largest hydroelectric power station; in 1980, more than 1,300 people from all over the country. By this time, 69 of their own Komsomol youth groups had already been formed during construction, 15 of them were registered ones.
Construction of hydroelectric power station. Photo from the museum at SSHPP

The largest industrial associations of the USSR created new super-powerful equipment for new hydroelectric power stations. Thus, all the unique equipment of the SSH HPP was manufactured by domestic factories: hydraulic turbines - by the production association of turbine construction "Leningrad Metal Plant", hydrogenerators - by the Leningrad production electrical engineering association "Elektrosila", transformers - by the production association "Zaporozhtransformator". The turbine runners were delivered to the upper reaches of the Yenisei by a waterway almost 10,000 kilometers long, across the Arctic Ocean. Thanks to an original technical solution - the installation of temporary impellers on the first two turbines, capable of operating at intermediate water pressures - it became possible to begin operating the first stage of the station before the completion of construction and installation work. Thanks to this, the country's national economy received an additional 17 billion kWh of electricity. Having generated 80 billion kWh by 1986, the construction site fully reimbursed the state for the costs that went into its construction. The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station became the top in the cascade of Yenisei hydroelectric power stations and one of the largest in the world: installed capacity - 6.4 million kW and average annual production - 22.8 billion kWh of electricity.

The pressure front of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP is formed by a unique concrete arch-gravity dam with a height of 245 m, a length along the crest of 1074.4 m, a width at the base of 105.7 m and a width at the crest of 25 m. In plan, the dam in the upper 80-meter part is designed in the form of a circular arch , having a radius of 600 m along the upper edge and a central angle of 102°, and in the lower part the dam consists of three-centered arches, and the central section with a coverage angle of 37° is formed by arches similar to the upper ones.
Dam structure. Museum at SSHHPP

The Main hydroelectric complex is located downstream of the Yenisei, 21.5 km from the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. Its main task is counter-regulation of its downstream, which allows smoothing out level fluctuations in the river when the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP carries out deep load regulation in the energy system. It is based on a conventional gravity dam and has 3 hydraulic units with a total capacity of 321 thousand kW. The annual electricity production of the Mainskaya HPP is 1.7 billion kWh.
Mainskaya hydroelectric power station dam

In Russia, hydroelectric power plants are mainly based on gravity-type dams. In addition to the SSHHPP, the Gergebil hydroelectric power station in Dagestan has an arch-gravity dam, but it is much smaller in size.
The mountain slopes around the hydroelectric power station resemble illustrations from films about agent 007

Currently, the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP named after P. S. Neporozhniy is the most powerful source of covering peak power surges in the Unified Energy System of Russia and Siberia. One of the main regional consumers of electricity from the SSHPP is the Sayanogorsk aluminum smelter.

The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is of particular interest as a tourism site. The hydroelectric power station has its own museum. Due to the security restrictions of the facility, visits to the museum are carried out through regional excursion bureaus; group visits to the museum are also allowed by prior agreement with the museum administration and the management of the Secondary School of Hydroelectric Power Station. To do this, just call the hydroelectric station and arrange an excursion. It is advisable to agree in advance, since in any case coordination with the security service will be necessary. In the village of power engineers Cheryomushki, located 2 km from the hydroelectric power station, you can stay at the Borus hotel. There is a tram from the village to the hydroelectric power station, which I will tell you about next time. If you have a car, you can leave it at the observation deck in front of the first checkpoint. I also recommend visiting the observation deck in front of the hydroelectric power station at night - the dam and the monument to the builders of the hydroelectric power station are very beautifully illuminated
The end of the tram in front of the pass office. In front of the service parking lot, one of those temporary impellers of hydraulic units is installed on a pedestal

Museum at SSHHPP. Model showing the operating principle of a hydraulic unit

Model of the complex of structures of the SSHHPP. In the center is an arched-gravity dam of a hydroelectric power station, with a turbine room and a spillway device. To the right and below are outdoor switchgears (open switchgears), located in a small gorge, from which electricity flows through power lines to consumers. To the left is an additional coastal spillway under construction. I'll tell you about it next time

Section of the SSHHPP dam and its turbine hall

View of the observation deck with the monument to the builders of the hydroelectric power station from the dam crest

Fragment of the monument to the builders of the hydroelectric power station. A small child showed his mother first at me (I was with a tripod, then at the monument) :)

And in a fragment of the monument symbolizing a turbulent flow of water, only an attentive tourist will be able to see images of fish and mermaids

SSHHPP at night. View from the observation deck

Well, for lovers of geocaching. A cache has long been hidden not far from the observation deck. I'm the first and only visitor there so far :)

The project for the construction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP considered 4 dam design options: gravity, arch-gravity, arch and rockfill. In addition, at the technical design stage, the option of an arched buttress dam was considered. As a result of comparing the options, the arch-gravity one was chosen, which, as it seemed at that time, more than others met the topographical and engineering-geological conditions of the site, made it possible to more closely use the properties of concrete and transfer part of the perceived load to the rocky shores...
The pressure front of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP is formed by a unique concrete arch-gravity dam with a height of 245 m, a length along the crest of 1066 m, a width at the base of 105.7 m, and a width of 25 m at the crest. 9,075,000 cubic meters of concrete were laid in the dam (that would be enough to build a highway from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok). A dam of this type, built in a wide alignment, is the only one in the world.
The service bus, strainedly roaring with a tortured engine, climbs past the outdoor switchgear along the serpentine road and dives into a tunnel that goes inside the rock of the left bank all the way to the ridge

View of the hydroelectric dam from the ridge

Structurally, the dam consists of a right-bank and left-bank blind dam, a spillway dam, and a station dam. Its construction was supposed to be carried out in 3 stages. However, a number of conventions did not allow this to be achieved and the dam was built in 9 stages. By 1989, the construction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station dam was completed. In 1990, it was brought under design pressure.
Length along the upper ridge - 1066 meters, width - 25 meters

Not everything in the history of the dam's construction was smooth sailing. One of the major problems was the detection of increasing seepage of the dam body. To avoid washing out the concrete, an attempt was made to inject it into the mass using the technology existing at that time. At the same time, the intersection joints were re-cemented, and cracks were cemented through ascending wells. The effect of injection was insignificant and short-lived. Filtration continued to increase.
Cranes for lifting gates. Multi-ton steel mastodons

In 1993, an agreement was reached between the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP and the French company Soletanche to use its technology for suppressing water filtration through concrete. In 1995, experimental repair work was carried out using polymeric, elastic, compared to cement mortar, materials based on epoxy resins. Trial repair work was successful - filtration was practically suppressed. Subsequently, the composition of the French resins was determined, and work to suppress filtration of the dam was subsequently carried out by our specialists.
Between the turbine hall of the hydroelectric power station and the dam. On the left are transformers, on the right is a system for squeezing water from the impeller

Water is supplied to the turbines through single-strand steel-concrete water pipelines with a diameter of 7.5 m

Concrete, concrete, concrete, concrete, concrete

Reservoir of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. There are pontoons ahead, along the banks there is floating wood

At the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, the spillway dam is located in the right-bank part of the channel and has 11 spillway openings

The construction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP was carried out in a phased manner, which was very different from the design assumptions due to underestimation of the real possibilities of construction in specific conditions. At any cost it was necessary to ensure the input of power without the necessary responsibility for its reliability. To ensure the launch of the first hydraulic unit on time, the filling of the reservoir was hastily started in order to have time to use the required volume of inflow from the insufficiently large autumn flow of the Yenisei. Only the sanitary pass was dumped into the downstream. At the same time, there was no provision for releasing water from the reservoir in case of any unforeseen circumstances. The first unit was put into operation at the end of December 1978 with a head of 60 m. Technological capabilities did not allow the required volume of concrete to be placed in the spillway dam, so it was not ready for the flood of 1979. For this reason, the flood occurred in an uncontrolled emergency mode, so on May 23, 1979, the first unit and the hydroelectric power station building were doomed and flooded. Aerators built into the walls of the spillways were supposed to provide air supply to the flow at the point where it descends from the toe of the spillway into the water well. In fact, the ejection effect did not work, and instead of air being sucked into the aerator, water was pumped into it from the spillway. Insufficient pre-design knowledge of the operation of aerators aggravated the situation at the construction site.
Uncontrolled release of the 1979 flood. Photo from the collection greycygnet

As a result of another powerful flood in 1985, 80% of the bottom area of the water well was destroyed. There was complete destruction of the fastening slabs (slabs more than 2 meters thick were simply washed away as if they were made of foam plastic), the concrete preparation under them and the rock below the base to a depth of 7 m. Anchors with a diameter of 50 mm were torn with characteristic traces of the onset of the metal’s yield point. The cause of these destructions is a poorly carried out repair of the well bottom after the flood of 1981 and a number of engineering miscalculations. One way or another, conclusions from these events were drawn and in 1991, work on the reconstruction of the water well was completed.
The destroyed bottom of a water well. Photo from the collection greycygnet

The fundamental solution to the problem is the construction of an additional coastal spillway. Only such an engineering solution will prevent the hydrodynamic pressure from exceeding the bottom of the main spillway well. In 2003, a decision was made to build it. The spillway consists of 2 tunnels laid inside the mountain on the right bank, as well as a diversion channel in the form of a 5-stage cascade. The construction of the new coastal spillway of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP is planned to be completed by 2010...

At the end of today's story, some archival photographs of the construction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station from the collection greycygnet And tekhnik76

The turbine hall of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP was built on the basis of a spatial cross-rod structure consisting of unified metal elements of the Moscow Architectural Institute (MARKHI) system. This design was first used in the construction of hydroelectric power stations...
The ceiling and walls of the turbine hall serve to protect equipment and people from the external environment and are designed only for snow and wind loads and seismic impact of 7 points. At the same time, the loads associated with the action of hydraulic processes during the operation of spillways and units were not taken into account. Due to this omission, due to increased vibration, once every 3 years and always after each idle spillway, it is necessary to inspect thousands of structural units, measuring the gaps in the connecting units. Also, the presence of snow cover on the roof more than 20 cm thick should not be allowed.
Turbine room of Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP

The station was visited by many specialists from different countries of the world, who noted the special architectural expressiveness and elegance of the turbine hall, which are largely determined by the appearance of the design of the Moscow Architectural Institute system. This is evidence that the design organization paid such attention to the architectural appearance that it was crowned with success. The architectural and artistic part of the project for the upper structure of the turbine hall was worked out so deeply, so insufficient attention was paid to its technological execution.

Ten hydraulic turbines of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP were a new stage in domestic hydropower construction. Each turbine RO-230/833-V-677, equipped with an impeller made of cavitation-resistant stainless steel 6.77 m in diameter and weighing 156 tons, is capable of developing a power of 650,000 kW with a design head of 194 m. The first two generators of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP were put into operation with temporary hydraulic turbine impellers capable of operating at low pressures, since the construction of the structures was carried out in stages. This made it possible to generate electricity even with partial pressure, starting from 60 meters.
Huge heavy equipment and several technical floors are hidden under the ceilings of the generators. In the distance you can see that the sixth unit is undergoing scheduled repairs - its generator has been partially dismantled.

The hydraulic turbine shaft is attached with the upper flange directly to the central part of the generator rotor mounted on top. The total mass of each assembled generator is 1860 tons. Maximum installation capacity - 890 tons. But even 890 tons is beyond the power of the station’s turbine hall assembly cranes, each of which has a limit of 500 tons. Therefore, when dismantling/installing a generator, both cranes are used in conjunction. This is how they took him out - http://greycygnet.livejournal.com/8 5122.html

Repaired generator of hydraulic unit No. 6 near

Installation site with parts of a dismantled hydraulic unit

The three devices next to the traverse for removing the generator are parts not of the generator itself, but of the KAG-15.75 generator circuit breaker. There is only one such switch left at the station, the rest have been replaced with modern and more reliable ABB HEC8 ones

Bolts

Currently, the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP is the most powerful source of covering peak power surges in the Unified Energy System of Russia and Siberia. One of the main regional consumers of electricity is the Sayanogorsk aluminum smelter, located not far from here near the city of Sayanogorsk.
Central control panel of hydroelectric power station

In 1991, the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP acquired several modified trams from St. Petersburg, running them along a simple route from the residential settlement of Cheryomushki power workers to the HPP along the remains of the former railway track. The village of Cheryomushki is the smallest settlement in Russia with a tram line, and the line itself is the only tram line in Russia with free travel...
The modern tram line was originally a temporary railway Abakan - the SSHHPP under construction, along which construction materials and special equipment were delivered, and one passenger train DR1 also ran to deliver construction workers. After the launch of the hydroelectric power station, the line on the Sayanogorsk-Cheryomushki section (about 30 km) was dismantled and abandoned. They left only a single-track section from Cheryomushki to the SSHHPP (about 3 km), which was electrified and a tram was launched along it.

The line has no turning circles, sidings or reversible dead ends, so peak morning and evening trips are carried out by several cars following each other. The trams reach the fence of the territory of the SSHHPP, where passengers are released right next to the checkpoint.

The only route passes the line in 15 minutes and turns around in 1 hour. The movement schedule is strictly adhered to. The first flight departs from the depot to the residential town at 6:35 am, the last departs to the depot at 20:00. The tram line operates every day except Sunday.

As I already said, the Cheryomushkinsky tram is the only tram system in Russia where passengers travel for free.

In total, the Cheryomushkinsky tram system operates six double-sided, double-cabin cars 71-88G, built in St. Petersburg on the basis of the Soviet four-axle tram car LM-68M specifically for Cheryomushki.

The trams only reach the entrance of the hydroelectric power station, but the electrified line continues further, along the territory of the hydroelectric power station, to the building gates leading to the electrical shop at the station's machine room, where major repairs of trams are carried out as necessary.

The tram is at the terminus near the entrance. The only time the hitch runs is in the evening. After a while, another carriage will arrive, all three will be filled with station employees and will roll to Cheryomushki

Very close to the Mainskaya hydroelectric power station, which is the counter-regulator of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, there are the remains of one unique structure, or rather the ruins of the stone dam of the Uysk irrigation system. Until the middle of the last century, without electricity or any pumps, water was supplied from here to more than 20 kilometers. Only two such irrigation systems were built. One is in Argentina, the other is here in Khakassia...
The south of the Koibal steppe has a reputation as a very dry place with frequent droughts. The issue of irrigating fields has always been acute here. In the early twenties of the last century, work began on the construction of an irrigation system. The initiator and leader of this project was hydraulic engineer Nikolai Mikhailov. In this project, he managed to solve the problem of supplying water to collective farm fields without any energy.

Mikhailov came up with an idea - the water should go to the fields on its own. The principle is communicating vessels. A stone dam was built on the taiga river Uy. From there, water was brought through a canal closer to the Yenisei, and through a two-hundred-meter pipe it was transferred to the right bank. From there, water was supplied to the collective farm fields through a system of water conduits and a six-kilometer pipe.

The irrigation system worked properly until 1963. But then the need for it disappeared, since along with the start of construction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, a powerful pumping station was built. She took upon herself the responsibility of watering the land.
Archive photo. Borrowed from Wikimapia

Now only stone ruins hidden in the forest remind us of the system

How to get here: moving along the road towards Cheryomushki, after the village of Maina there will be a turn onto the dirt road towards Zharki.
Along the dirt road for 2-3 kilometers to the bridge over the river.
Stop in front of the bridge and walk a little to the right.
Coordinates: 52°58"8"N 91°26"59"E

While at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, I took the opportunity to visit the Shushenskoye open-air museum, which was just a stone's throw away by car...
The full name of this museum is the Regional State Budgetary Institution of Culture Historical and Ethnographic Museum-Reserve "Shushenskoye" (or formerly "V.I. Lenin's Siberian Exile"). The Shushensky open-air museum is a historically established central part of the Siberian village of the Russian Empire of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. On the territory of 7 hectares there are numerous monuments of rural wooden architecture: peasant estates, a volost government building with a prison, a village shop, a tavern, and a blacksmith shop. In peasant houses and estates, the living conditions of Siberians at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries have been recreated. The main occupations of peasants are shown - agriculture and animal husbandry, widespread subsidiary trades and crafts - hunting, fishing, beekeeping, cooperage, weaving, wickerwork, felt rolling, felt boots, etc. In the houses where V.I. lived during the years of exile. Lenin, the memorial situation is preserved. In addition to traditional services, the museum offers visitors theatrical excursions with demonstrations of ancient crafts, Russian cuisine, including tasting of traditional drinks in a 19th-century drinking establishment. Programs involving the folklore ensemble, puppet and ethnographic theaters of the museum are very popular. The museum has workshops - pottery, wood carving, and a sewing workshop for theatrical and folk costumes. In souvenir shops you can purchase products from museum craftsmen, as well as folk craftsmen and professional artists of Southern Siberia.
The Shushenskoye Museum is located, as you might guess, in the village of Shushenskoye (Krasnoyarsk Territory). Open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week.

The tour of the museum begins with the estate of the wealthy peasant Zyryanov, where V.I. lodged. Lenin's first year of exile in Siberia. History is silent about why Ilyich could not lodge in the house of a poor peasant.

Inner courtyard of the estate with outbuildings.

A little over a year later, grief befell the Leader - the beloved Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya came to him in exile. Yes, not alone - with my mother. In order not to confuse the public with an innovative approach to living together, Ilyich and N.K. officially get married in a local church. After which Lenin rented his own house - larger and more comfortable (more on that below). Vladimir Ilyich decides to take revenge on the wealthy peasants and the church a little later, although it’s a no brainer that the mother-in-law is generally to blame.

Around all the houses there are neat vegetable gardens. The museum employees grow all sorts of vegetables, fruits and berries for themselves (there’s nothing wrong with that, I think). Passing by one of these vegetable gardens, the guide enthusiastically listed the agricultural crops grown in the old days by Siberian residents: “... flax, potatoes, hemp...”. Hearing the familiar word, the entire excursion group burned out, immediately craning their necks over the fence in search of the treasured agricultural crop.

Old Russian female torture apparatus. As soon as the little girl began to walk, her stern Siberian parents immediately made her prepare her dowry.

The most interesting interior has a trading shop.

The old prison-prison is located inconveniently among other buildings. It is impossible to take a clear view of it from the outside, despite the fact that the structure is interesting.

The tour ends at Lenin's house, where he lived for the other 2 years of his exile.

The second refuge of the exiled Ulyanov-Lenin, his young wife Krupskaya and her mother was another estate of another wealthy peasant Petrov. The family took a larger house. Now they rented not a room in the house, but the whole house. They hired a housekeeper without fail. In Soviet times it was called “they taught her to read and write.” Specifically, this photo shows the estate's courtyard and bathhouse.

The front gate of the house and gazebo. According to legend, it was built personally by Vladimir and Nadya in order to drink tea there in the summer.

In my youth, Krupskaya was quite okay in my opinion. Arched eyebrows, plump lips. One minus - she came with her mother... And Vladimir looks like an IT guy, a lover of Tolkien and the group “The King and the Jester”.

Interior of Lenin's office. As I understand it, a gun is not for fighting off fellow villagers. Here's a link - nature, mountains, hunting, mushrooms and berries, tea in the gazebo :)

This is such a museum. I highly recommend and recommend him. The excursions are interesting to watch and listen to.
Its coordinates: 53°19"39"N 91°55"41"E

The region around the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is a popular place among tourists not only because of the hydroelectric power station itself. Opposite Cheryomushki, on the right bank of the Yenisei, rises the five-domed Mount Borus. In the summer, hundreds of tourists flock here to admire the boundless panorama of the Western Sayan Mountains...
It's a measly 10 km in a straight line to Borus, but it's an uphill journey along a path that is by no means straight. And the remaining half a day before the plane to Moscow allows me to only count on the fact that someday I will come here again...

To climb Borus you need to cross the Yenisei bridge in Cheryomushki. After 4 kilometers the road ends at the forester's lodge. You need to check in at the gatehouse and continue along the numerous paths to the top...

But even from below the river the view of the ridge is mesmerizing

Wandering along the scattered stones of the Yenisei bank, I notice that birds are throwing themselves at my feet, persistently diverting my attention

Normal behavior for birds leading the “enemy” away from the nest, but I couldn’t see the nest itself...

But it turned out that there was no nest. There is a chick sitting half a meter away from me on a stone. I almost stepped on the brat :)

And little birds have someone to be afraid of. Healthy golden eagles are circling in the sky. It was the first time I saw live birds of prey catching fish...

Tormented by the realization that Borus was not going to take me on this trip, I glanced at the slope of the mountain near which the village is located. There was a path-road along the gorge. The navigator indicated that at the pass there would be 1000 m above sea level. In a straight line it’s 5 km, which means taking into account the fact that the trail winds for 7-8 kilometers. Great, go ahead! :)

The path, quite driveable even for a non-wheel drive, runs along the stream along the gorge for quite a long time...

...gradually becoming a path only for prepared off-road vehicles

About halfway to the pass. The road is already strictly stone, there is a strong slope, huge boulders. Every 4x4 fan's dream

More and more often you have to stop for a couple of seconds - catch your breath, turn around, be amazed by the beauty

The weather changed like a kaleidoscope. During the 2.5 hours of walking up it was cloudy, cloudy, sunny, there was light rain several times, and one downpour (which, however, I was happy about - it was hot)

Just the texture of stone

Rainbow after the rain

Finally, wet down to your underpants with sweat, with your tongue on one side, you climb up the pass. The view is so beautiful that at first you stand and stare blankly into the vast distance. But you need to climb another 30 meters up - to the rock on which someone planted a homemade flag. This is the highest point here

And here is the frame of the car that arrived here - that was my first thought. In fact, it turned out to be part of the power line structure

Traditional inscriptions "Here was..."

Upstairs. The altitude above sea level according to my GPS is 1238 meters. Considering the height at which the hotel is located from where I started the route, the difference is about 830 meters. Vertex coordinates - N52°53.142" E91°22.148"

Someone's hacienda

Cheryomushki village

Coastal spillway under construction

Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP

Hydroelectric power station reservoir

I couldn't help but take a photo of myself. Otherwise, you never know who won’t believe that I was here :)

As it turned out later, the name of this place is Cheryomukhovy Pass. And the peak itself is nameless. Just an altitude of 1238. An excellent, beautiful, energetically strong place, which is worth recommending to anyone who came to the SSHPP for some business, but does not have time for anything more. Just like it happened to me...