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_nsk .
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. 
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34. Public observation deck.
35. The generated current from the station is transferred to an open switchgear (OSU 500).
36. ORU 500 ensures the delivery of power from the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP to the power systems of Kuzbass and Khakassia.
37. View from the observation deck, which is located 1600 meters from the dam. The coastal spillway is highlighted on the left. 
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Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. Recovery.
At the time of the accident, which occurred on August 17, 2009, nine out of ten hydraulic units were in operation (No. 6 was in reserve). As a result of damage to hydraulic unit No. 2, a large amount of water was released from the turbine crater, which destroyed part of the roof and damaged the load-bearing columns of the turbine hall. As a result of water ingress, all hydraulic units of the hydroelectric power station received electrical and mechanical damage and failed.
A year and a half has passed since the accident, during which time the first stage of reconstruction of the station was completed and 4 hydraulic units were put into operation. Unlike last winter, water flows through the dam as usual through the culverts of operating hydraulic units without idle discharges.
1. The turbine room of the hydroelectric power station initially housed 10 hydraulic units with a capacity of 640 MW each. The maximum water flow through the turbine is 358 m³ per second, the turbine efficiency in the optimal zone is about 96%.
2. The turbine hall building of the hydroelectric power station is impressive - almost 300 meters in length. On the right side of the panorama you can see a section of the roof that was restored after the accident. 
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Section of the dam and the turbine room with a hydraulic unit.
3. Section of the hydraulic unit. The investigation showed that the immediate cause of the accident was fatigue failure of the studs securing the cover of hydraulic unit No. 2 (locations marked with arrows), which led to its failure and flooding of the turbine room.
4. Today, active work is underway at the station to restore the turbine room. This is what the installation site for hydraulic unit No. 2 looks like.
5. Comparison with what it was a little over a year ago. Author of the photo helio_nsk .
Oleg Myakishev, an eyewitness to the accident, describes this moment as follows:
“...I stood at the top, heard some kind of growing noise, then saw the corrugated covering of the hydraulic unit rise and stand on end. Then I saw the rotor rising from under it. He was spinning. My eyes didn't believe it. He rose three meters. Stones and pieces of reinforcement flew, we began to dodge them... The corrugated sheet was already somewhere under the roof, and the roof itself was blown apart... I figured: the water was rising, 380 cubic meters per second, and - I was heading towards the tenth unit. I thought I wouldn’t make it in time, I rose higher, stopped, looked down - I saw how everything was collapsing, the water was rising, people were trying to swim... I thought that the gates needed to be closed urgently, manually, to stop the water... Manually, because there was no voltage, no defenses worked..."
Video taken by an eyewitness to the accident:
6. Another comparison.
7. Streams of water quickly flooded the machine room and the rooms below it. All hydraulic units of the hydroelectric power station were flooded, while short circuits occurred on the operating hydroelectric generators, rendering them inoperable. There was a complete load shedding of the hydroelectric power station, which led to a blackout of the station itself.
8. The measures taken after the accident exclude a complete blackout of the station. Additional diesel electric generators have been installed, which automatically start when the main power goes out, no matter what the reason.
10. Also added to the vibration control system were thirty-nine sensors installed on each hydraulic unit, which monitor the movements of the shafts and vibrations of the entire structure. The protection is triggered if, in the steady-state operating mode of the hydraulic unit, an increased level of maximum permissible vibration is maintained for more than 15 seconds.
11. JSC RusHydro entered into a contract with JSC Power Machines for the supply of equipment to hydroelectric power plants. During 2011, the company will produce six new hydraulic units.
13. There are two gantry cranes with a lifting capacity of 500 tons in the machine room.
14. Cranes can work in pairs and lift 1000 tons at once.
15. To clear over 5,000 cubic meters of rubble, a technological entrance for trucks was organized in the area of hydraulic unit 10.
16. Since entry was not initially provided, there is practically no room for maneuvering. It takes a lot of effort to drive a semi-trailer truck into the hall...
19. Some of the technological equipment is assembled directly at the station’s installation site, and some is brought from St. Petersburg. For example, hydraulic turbine impellers with a diameter of more than 6 meters are delivered by water transport.
21. Now the power of the station is 2560 MW.
23. Area of operating hydraulic units.
25. The turbines drive synchronous hydrogenerators with a rotor diameter of 10.3 meters, producing a current voltage of 15.75 kV. According to test results, the new hydraulic units are capable of developing power up to 720 MW.
26. Technical premises in the area of the operating hydraulic unit.
27. Cylindrical walls of a hydraulic unit and various equipment.
As a result of the accident, all these premises were flooded with water. 75 people died.
31. It’s quite noisy inside a running hydraulic unit...
32. One of the technical galleries.
33. Central control point of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. 
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35. The upgraded protection system stops the unit when the supply voltage is lost, including in an emergency situation: cable break, fire, flooding and short circuit. The action of all protections leads to the closure of the guide vane, emergency repair valve and disconnection of the generator from the network.
37. Even if for some reason the automation does not work, you can stop the hydraulic unit and reset the emergency repair valve using special keys located on the central control panel. Emergency keys existed before, but they were located directly at the hydraulic units. During the accident, these marks were flooded, and it was not possible to use the keys.
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.
Enlarge image
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 cuts, 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%).
Enlarge image
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.
Enlarge image
14. The coastal spillway consists of an inlet head, two free-flow tunnels, an outlet portal, a five-stage drop and an outlet channel.
Enlarge image
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.
Enlarge image
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.
Next, we propose to go to the restored Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, where the finishing of the premises after the accident 6 years ago is now being completed, evaluate the scale of the work done and once again be surprised by the colossal size of the largest hydropower complex in our country.
From Abakan airport to the village of Cheryomushki, near which the construction of the SSHHPP 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.
From Cheryomushki, where most of the station's workers live, there is a free tram running to the SSHHPP, departing every hour.
Travel time along the banks of the Yenisei takes about 15 minutes, the distance from the final stations is less than six kilometers.
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.
After a serious inspection, like at an airport, we enter 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.
The chapel was opened at the foot of the SSHHPP on the first anniversary of the accident.
The plaque that everyone takes pictures of.
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.
In the lobby there are posters with diagrams and descriptions of the principles of operation of a hydroelectric power station.
First of all, we 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.
You can search online, or you can see the first remote control in a painting by an artist from the 80s.
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.
From here comes monitoring of the Mainskaya hydroelectric station, which is located twenty kilometers downstream and serves as a counter-regulatory station. At the same time, SSHHPP is a peak power plant.
It's simple - the hydraulic units are labeled as G7, G8, G9, G10. T - transformer, V-G turn on the generator, etc.
Power, reactive power, rotor current, stator current, terminal voltage.
All information obtained from the results of instrumental and visual observations is supplied to the technical managers of the station. And based on the results of analyzing the information, they send their wishes to the state organization involved in regulating the water level in reservoirs - Rosvodresursy. The advantages of such work are efficiency, and comprehensive control ensures the operational reliability of the dam.
From the control room window there is a good view of the hydroelectric power station.
The height of the structure is 245 m, 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.
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...
The turbine hall of the hydroelectric power station houses 10 hydraulic units with a capacity of 640 MW each with radial-axial turbines. The design head is 194 meters,
maximum static head - 220 m.
In memory of the dead.
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.
Protective cap for the generator brush device. The tanks on the right are an oil-pressure unit, with the help of which the unit is controlled; oil pressure drives a servomotor, which changes the position of the guide vane blades and accordingly changes the power of the unit.
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.
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...
Hydraulic unit No. 8 is also undergoing routine inspection.
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 holding onto the beams above, and several were discovered in the lower rooms, where a small air cushion had been created...
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.
The beginning of the biography of the Sayano-Shushensky hydropower complex can be considered November 4, 1961, when the first team of prospectors from the Lenhydroproekt Institute arrived in the mining village of Maina. Three competing sites were examined. Based on the survey materials, the final option was chosen - the Karlovsky site.
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.
The hydraulic units of the SSHHPP were launched one by one in the period 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.
Telephones for operational and emergency communications. You can't call the city, but you don't need to at work.
The amount of active power of the hydraulic unit is 620 MW.
Using a kettle as an example, he explains it to me this way: 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.
A minute of rest and another “employee” - a sparrow - rushes towards the worker. There are several of them here, they flew into the turbine hall and live somewhere under the ceiling.
We went down to the lower rooms - behind this round wall a hydraulic unit was humming (at the time of filming it was not working).
Renovations are underway in the lower rooms, here workers are laying reinforcement, where they will then pour concrete and get a new floor.
In some places the concrete has already been poured; all that remains is to level it and wait until it dries completely.
We go out onto the balcony of the turbine room from the downstream side.
The maximum capacity of the operational spillway at a normal retaining level (NPL - 539 m) is 11,700 m3/s.
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.
Below, the rail tracks for re-rolling transformers are being renewed.
Finally we climb to the ridge of the dam, having overcome the serpentine road and a kilometer-long tunnel in the mountain.
The length at 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.
The station part of the dam is located on the left bank of the river bed and consists of 21 sections with a total length of 331.6 m. The hydroelectric power station building adjoins it on the downstream side, and a transformer site is located in the adjoining area at an elevation of 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.
Gorgeous view from the ridge to the Yenisei.
The temporary turbine impeller, which has spent its time, now serves as a monument not far from the entrance.
156 tons of stainless iron! The second wheel of the same type was cut down and sent for recycling.
Cavitation of blades after 4 years of operation. The water tried...
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.
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.
The construction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station took a total of 9.7 million cubic meters of concrete. 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...
Is the scale clear?
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.
Another climber for scale.
The catchment area of the river basin, providing inflow to the hydroelectric station site, is 179,900 km2. The average long-term flow at the site is 46.7 km3. The area of the reservoir is 621 km2, the total capacity of the reservoir is 31.3 km3, including useful capacity - 15.3 km3.
A gantry crane on the crest of a dam - it is used to raise and lower the spillway gates.
The spillway part of the dam, built in 2005-2011, has a length of 189.6 m and is located on the right bank.
It seems that the hydroelectric station is close, but in fact it is almost 3.5 kilometers away...
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!
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 an elevation of 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!
