Nizhnekamsk HPP: construction history, incidents, general information

Nizhnekamsk HPP in Tatarstan is unique and the only energy company in the country connected to the UES of Russia. Thanks to this enterprise, which is part of the holding company "Tatenergo", the residents of the region are continuously supplied with electricity.

General information

The Nizhnekamsk hydro-power plant is located on the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan on the Kama River near Yelabuga and Naberezhnye Chelny. The power station was built in 1963, and it began to work only in 1979. The HPP facilities include:

• Dam of concrete for the weir;
• Dam channel channel;
• Floodplain dams;
• Gateways;
• Building of hydroelectric power station.

The maximum height of the floodplain and channel dam is 30 m, and the total length is 2.976 km. The railroad and road are located directly on the dam. On average, over 2 billion kW / h of electricity is generated during the year.

After the construction of retaining structures, the Nizhnekamsk reservoir was formed. At the moment, the NPP is 63.3 m. The rise in the level will allow generating more electricity, but it has been lobbying for several decades the power of neighboring regions.

History of construction

The Nizhnekamsk hydropower plant began operating in 1979, when the level of the reservoir filling reached 62 m. This level is the minimum permissible, since it provides the work of the hydropower plant and the passage of ships through the locks. The reservoir flooded 78,000 hectares of surrounding land, but 173,000 hectares were initially allocated for the construction of the HPP in the Republics of Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Udmurtia and the Perm Region. Before the flooding of the adjacent territories, work was carried out on deforestation, resettlement of local residents, transfer of infrastructure facilities and communications. The last (16th in a row) power unit was launched in 1987. By 1990, the management of the hydrosystem planned to raise the reservoir level to 68 m, which caused a wave of protests from various environmental organizations. Thus, the level did not rise. Prior to the level of 63.5 m, NHRIs were raised only in 2002 on the basis of a joint agreement of four regions.

Problems associated with the rise of the reservoir level

According to the design documentation, the level should be at the level of 68 m. However, now it is intermediate, which provoked a number of problems from the point of view of ecology and economy. Since the Nizhnekamsk hydropower plant produces less electricity, shipping is difficult, and the protective engineering structures began to collapse. In addition, from year to year there is a flowering of water. 50% of the reservoir area is shallow (depth does not reach 2 m), which contradicts sanitary norms. If the level is raised to 68 m, a large number of territories in the surrounding regions will be flooded.

Accident

In 2010, an explosion occurred at the Nizhnekamsk hydroelectric power station, which was preceded by smoke. As a result, 2 employees of the enterprise were killed, 10 - were injured. The source of the explosion was a damaged synchronous compressor, which takes air for the needs of the power plant. The reason was an oil leak, which was subsequently heated and mixed with air. However, the accident did not affect the work of the enterprise.

The only power plant of Tatarstan is the Nizhnekamsk hydroelectric power station. Naberezhnye Chelny and Yelabuga are the nearest settlements to it. The plant began operating in 1979, but until now it has not reached design capacity. This is due to the fact that the reservoir level should reach 68 m, but now it is at 63.5 m. Nizhnekamsk HPP is connected to the Unified Energy System of the Russian Federation and economically important for the region.