RusHydro has commissioned the third unit at its Ust-Srednekanskaya hydropower plant, which is currently under construction on the Kolyma River in the Magadan region of Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District. The commissioning increases the plant’s installed capacity almost two fold – from 168MW to 310.5MW.
Ust-Srednekanskaya power plant is located 217km downstream from the operating Kolymskaya power plant and is the second stage of the cascade. The hydropower facility is built in extreme natural conditions: permafrost in the region is 300m thick and outside winter temperatures goes down to 60 degrees centigrade below zero.
Lengidropoject developed the design of the power plant back in the 1980’s. The site preparation began in 1991, but the work progressed very slowly due to insufficient financing. De-facto construction resumed only in 2008 when RusHydro took over the project.
The dam across Kolyma River was completed in 2011. The first phase of the plant was commissioned in 2013 including two hydropower units equipped with two temporary 84MW runners, operating with a 32.5m high earth-filled dam. The second phase includes the third hydropower unit with the regular 142.5MW runner designed for 48.5m dam.
The third phase of the project includes increasing the dam to 66m, replacement of temporary runners with regular more powerful ones and commissioning of the third hydropower unit. Completion of the third phase would allow the plant to reach project capacity of 570MW and long-run annual output of 2.55 billion kWh. The overall length of the earth-filled dam and two concrete dams upon completion will reach over 2km. Commissioning of the fourth hydropower unit is scheduled for 2023.
All main equipment of the plant, such as turbines, generators and power transformers is manufactured in Russia. The plant is being built by RusHydro’s controlled company – JSC Ust-SrednekanHESstroi.
