23
THE DEVELOPMENT
OF HYDROPOWER SYSTEM
OF THE MAGADAN REGION
The scheme of hydro potential
development of the Kolyma River
was approved in 1977 by the Mi-
nist ry of Energy and Electri
fi
cation
of the USSR. It was reviewed
by the use of upper and lower
reaches of the river about 1100 km
long, starting from the source to
the mouth of the river Korkodon.
Lower land of Kolyma was found
unusable for hydro power use,
due to less favorable topographic
conditions, and taking into account
its
fi
shery. On the upper section
of the river there was revealed
the possibility of building a cas-
cade of nine hydropower plants
(further HPP), of which six had
the best record: Verkhne-Kolym-
skaya, Kolym
skaya, Ust-Sred-
nekan skaya, Mogu
che gor skaya,
Ust-Sugoyskaya, and Ust-Korko-
donskaya. These sta
ti ons would
have allowed to use 60% of the
economic po
ten tial of Kolyma
River. But today, the cascade con-
sists of two hydro power plants: the
Ko lym skaya (operating) and Ust-
Sred ne kanskaya (under construc-
tion), using 25% of the economi-
cally effective hydro potential of
the river and covering 95% of the
region’s electricity needs.
The
fi
rst idea of the construction
of cascade of hydropower
plants on the Kolyma River
was expressed by the geologist
D.V. Voznesenski in 1932 after
Kolymskaya HPP. View from the hill
New Energy
of the Far East
24
the rafting through the Kolyma
thresholds. He was supported
by the Director of the state trust
“Dalstroy” E.P. Berzin, and in 1933
in Nagaevo the expedition of the
Leningrad Institute for design of
hydraulic structures (Giprovod) of
16 people came. Five specialists
and forty workers of “Dalstroi”
have joined them. After 26 days,
breaking
fi
ve hundred kilometers,
the expedition arrived to the Ust-
Srednekan. The results of work
had to be submitted in the middle
of 1935.
In 1935 a dam was offered
to be build on the Kolyma River
in height of 76 meters, along the
crest of 540 meters in length, to in-
stall 4 turbines with a total capa city
of 50 MW. Apart from Kolymskaya
HPP other options were offered:
Srednekanskaya, Lower Buyun-
dinskaya, Upper Buyundinskaya
and HPP on the Lake of Jack Lon-
don. The cost of construction was
determined by almost 200 million
rubles, even for “Dalstroi” it was
unaffordable amount. Therefore,
in the thirties, none of these plans
were destined to become.
Only in 1967 the Ministry of
Energy issued the task for the
institution “Hydroproject” for in-
vestigation and design of Ko lym-
skaya HPP. At that time it became
clear that for the serious technical
modernization of mining Magadan
region needed a reliable energy
base. Two years later, November
the 6th, 1969 Minister of Energy
and Electri
fi
cation issued an order
on establishment of the construc-
tion management of “Kolymages-
stroy”. From the 1st of December,
1969 Y.I. Frishter has started to
ful
fi
ll the duties of head of con-
struction.
Kolymskaya HPP, unlike many
others, did not begin with tents
and dams, but with terminal
stations, with access roads, with
housing and recreation, with the
construction of the hydro builders
village Sinegorye. In 1972 the
fi
rst school was opened there, the
construction of two-storey houses
of timber began, then there were
rows of beautiful and comfortable,
like twins, houses made from
aluminum panels. The construction
was carried out under extremely
severe weather conditions in the
permafrost zone. Climate there
is sharply continental: with very
cold winters and moderately warm
summers. The annual amplitude
of temperature
fl
uctuations aims
to 98 degrees, the minimum
winter temperature is 62 degrees
below zero. The heating period
lasts 270 days.
Along with the continued con-
struction of settlements for hydro
builders unfolded work on the main
hydroelectric plants was carried
out, already on the 4th of June in
1974
fi
rst soil bucket was taken
out, and in 1976 Kolymskaya
HPP was announced as All-Union
heavy construction site. Two
and a half thousand young men
and women in Komsomol youth
teams simultaneously worked
there. In 1980 the Kolyma River
was blocked in the alignment
of the HPP and after only
fi
ve
months the
fi
rst hydropower unit
has been tested at idle. The last,
the
fi
fth hydropower unit was put
into operation in 1994. In 2010
the station was named after the
head of its constructor and the
fi
rst
director – Yuri Iosifovich Frishter.
Kolymskaya HPP with capa-
city of 900 MW and average an-
nual output of 3.3 billion kW/h is
a hydro power station with the high-
est ground (rock-
fi
ll) dam, which
reaches a height of 134.5 me-
ters. Reservoir of 148 km long,
6 km wide and depth of 120 m
has a capacity of 14.56 mil-
lion m³. Kolymskaya HPP is the
most power
ful in Russia power
plant with an under ground loca-
tion of the engine room, which
is connected with the surface by
a 300-meter transport tunnel and
elevator shafts. Hydro station has
a lot of permanent and temporary
underground struc
tures, a total
length of more than seven kilom-
eters. Putting Kolymskaya HPP
into operation allowed withdraw-
ing the reserve of Arkagalinskaya
State District Power Plant and sig-
ni
fi
cant reduction of the consump-
tion of coal in the Magadanskaya
combined heat and power plant
CHP (with the termination of the
heating period CHP stops and
electric boiler is used). Every year
it prevented the burning of about
one million tons of coal, mainly
imported.
Blocking of Kolyma
in Kolymskaya HPP site
Construction
of Kolymskaya HPP
25
Ust-Srednekanskaya HPP
Already within the construction
of Kolymskaya HPP it was clear
that further development of the re-
gion, including the mining industry,
would require the creation of addi-
tional generation. The issue of the
construction of the second stage
of Ust-Srednekanskaya HPP cas-
cade, was discussed as early as
the 1970s, but con struc tion was
managed to start only in 1991.
Nevertheless, pre
pa ratory work
was started in the mid-80s. So in
1985 from the vil lage Laryukovaya
located on the Ko ly ma highway,
for future Ust-Sred
ne kanskaya
HPP site, the con struction of road
for nearly 40 km in length began.
Not much later the
fi
rst team of
buil ders was brought. The team
began construction of a hostel
in the future shift camp for hydro
builders. In the short two-three
years, two bridges over Orotukan
River and Kolyma River were built.
Project of Ust-Srednekanskaya
HPP with electrical capacity of
570 MW (4 hydro units with elec-
trical capa city of 142.5 MW each)
was developed by the Institute
“Lengidro proekt”. HPP is located
on the Kolyma River, 217 km be-
low current Kolymskaya HPP. The
original construction was quite ac-
tive, but in the late 1990s due to
the worsening economic situation
in Russia the speed was slowed
down. However, the regional
autho rities had a clear position –
building of the station is neces-
sary. Because its input would
change the entire structure of the
fuel and energy balance of the re-
gion and would provide the energy
base of the region’s economy for
many years ahead.
Prior to 2004, unstable funding
did not allow to expand widely
the construction. Due to changes
in economic conditions for the
development of the Magadan
Region and on the initiative of the
customer JSC “Kolymaenergo”
re-state examination of the project
of Ust-Srednekanskaya HPP was
carried out in 2004 and received
a positive expert opinion. On the
3rd of December, 2004 at the
meeting of Rosenergo, it was de-
cided to recognize the appropriate
completion of starting complex of
Ust-Srednekanskaya HPP.
Active construction of the sta-
tion was resumed in 2006: the pro-
ject of Ust-Srednekanskaya HPP
entered the list of invest projects
of the Federal Target Program
“Development of the Far East and
Trans-Baikal”. In 2008 comple-
tion of the project was entrusted
to JSC “RusHydro”, despite the
crisis in the global economy, the
speed of construction was quite
high. So after 5 years, the
fi
rst two
hydraulic units of Ust-Srednekan-
skaya HPP were launched after
successful tests. The station is
included in the Magadan energy
system and it covers about 17%
of the region’s needs.
Construction Customer is JSC
“Ust-Srednekanskaya HPP”, the
general contractor is JSC “Ust-
SrednekanGESstroy”. Both com-
panies are subsidiaries of PJSC
“Kolymaenergo”, which from its
turn is a subsidiary of PJSC “Rus-
Hydro”.
Hydro system represents
pressure head front with length
of about 2.5 kilometers, including
earthen, concrete (spillway, sta-
tion and blank) dams, with maxi-
mum height of 75 m and a power-
house of dam type. Production
and processing facility is located
26
on station site. Complete gas-
insulated switchgear of 220 kV is
placed in it. Moreover, on the sta-
tion site buildings of maintenance
services and buildings of the
economic unit, including sewage
treatment plants and a
fi
re station
are located.
At the moment on Ust-Sred-
nekanskaya HPP installation of
a third hydraulic unit has begun.
The contract for its production
and supply was signed between
“Power Machines” and “Rus-
Hydro” in 2014. “Power Machines”
will put generator completed with
excitation system, as well as the
automatic control system (ACS) of
hydraulic unit on Ust-Srednekan-
skaya HPP and hydro turbine with
electric capacity of 142.5 MW. The
impeller of hydraulic unit with di-
ameter of 5.95 meters and weight
of 85.4 tones was delivered to
the Magadan region by plane
AN-124-100 “Ruslan” in the mid-
dle of June of the current year. In
a similar way in the beginning of
2000s, the company “Power Ma-
chines” delivered units of hydrau-
lic turbines for hydroelectric units’
number 1 and number 2, which
are already in operation at the
Ust-Srednekanskaya HPP.
Less heavy equipment for the
hydraulic unit number 3 of Ust-
Srednekanskaya HPP is delivered
to Magadan Region by railway (to
Vladivostok), by sea (to Magadan)
and by highway. At the moment
hydro generator has been deli-
vered to the station. Hydraulic unit
number 3 is the
fi
rst machine on
the Ust-Srednekanskaya HPP,
where to set a permanent impel-
ler. On the
fi
rst two units there are
temporary impellers, designed for
lowered pressure in the range from
24 to 46 m. Thus, after the launch
of the third hydraulic unit the col-
laborative work of exchangeable
impellers of the
fi
rst starting com-
plex and the regular impeller of the
third machine will still be possible.
The launching of the 3rd hydrau-
lic unit of Ust-Srednekanskaya
hydropower plant in operation is
expected in 2018. This will elimi-
nate the spillway in winter, which
will increase the reliability and
safety of the hydro system.
Hydro builders conventionally
divide the completion of Ust-
Srednekanskaya HPP into three
main stages. At the
fi
rst stage,
except hydraulic unit installation, it
is planned to rise crest in pressure
structures to the level of 275.50 m
(276.50 m for earth dam) above sea
level, the construction of the power
house for hydraulic unit number 3,
buildings of maintenance ser vices
and a garage.
At the second stage the con-
struction of waterfront facilities
before project markers – 293 m
(293.50 m for earth dam), the con-
struction of the power house for hy-
draulic unit number 4, reinstal ling
temporary working wheels of
hydro electric units number 1 and
number 2 on the regular are plan-
ned. At the levels above 276 m,
when the pressure on the hydrau-
lic unit will exceed 46 m, only units
with the regular impellers will be
able to work.
The third
fi
nal stage of construc-
tion includes residual amounts of
work, such as instal lation of hyd-
rau lic unit number 4, the com pletion
of improvement hydro system,
remediation of quarries, the elimi-
nation of the construction village
and the industrial base. In addition,
work and costs associated with the
launch of hydraulic unit number 4,
which enter terms determines the
intensity of the deve
lopment of
economy of the region covered by
the energy system of the Magadan
region, are included to that stage.
The launching of the power
plant will provide electricity to
the developing mining enter-
prises, primarily gold mining.
The develop ment of hydropower
also sti
mu lates the creation of
new in dustries, which are unique
for the region. It can be lique
fi
ed
hyd rogen, which agreement on
the construction was signed by
RusHydro and the Japanese com-
pany “Kawasaki” in 2013. In addi-
tion, the hydropower station will
contribute to the shipping, regu-
lating runoff of the Kolyma River.
New energy power will reduce
consumption of imported fuel and
allow restraining of electricity ta-
riffs growth by reducing the cost of
its production.
Ust-Srednekanskaya HPP sig-
ni
fi
cantly increased power safety
in the region. Before starting the
fi
rst hydroelectric units of the new
power station, the needs of the iso-
lated energy system of Magadan
by 95% were provided by one
hydro power plant – Kolymskaya
HPP. Today, in the Magadan re-
gion highly maneuverable reserve
source of generation appeared
and it has already the most posi-
tive impact on the reliability of
power supply of the population
and industrial enterprises.
Construction of
Ust-Srednekanskaya HPP
Оригинал статьи: The Development of Hydropower System of the Magadan Region
The scheme of hydro potential development of the Kolyma River was approved in 1977 by the Ministry of Energy and Electrification of the USSR. It was reviewed by the use of upper and lower reaches of the river about 1100 km long, starting from the source to the mouth of the river Korkodon. Lower land of Kolyma was found unusable for hydro power use, due to less favorable topographic conditions, and taking into account its fishery.