Votkinsk Hydroelectric Power Station is a hydroelectric power station built on the Kama River. About her and the story will go in the material.
Geographical location of the station
The construction was erected near the city of Tchaikovsky Perm Territory. In total, 3 hydroelectric power stations were built in the Volga-Kama cascade. They all function to this day. Downstream the Kama River is the Nizhnekamsk Hydroelectric Power Station, higher up is the Kama Hydroelectric Power Station in Perm.
The length of the river on which the Votkinskaya HPP is located is 2009 km, the catchment area is 184 thousand square meters. km, the average long-term water consumption in the hydroelectric complex is 1710 m 3 / s.
A hydroelectric power station is one of the points in the network that generates electricity to supply the Ural Federal District. The main objective of the construction:
- work during peak load on the power grid;
- providing a reserve, as well as providing electricity to the region in case of unforeseen failures;
- regulation of the flow of water on the river to ensure the safe passage of ships, as well as for guaranteed trouble-free operation of structures used for water intake.
General information
The construction of the Votkinsk hydroelectric station on the river lasted 10 years, from 1955 to 1965, according to the channel scheme. The building project was created by the Lengidroproekt Institute.
Composition of the structure:
- Spillway dam, whose height reaches 44.5 m, length - 191 m.
- The main building, which has a length of 273 m.
- Gateway with one camera for the passage of ships.
- Earth dams. Moreover, their total length is 4.77 km, and the greatest height is 35.5 m.
The station's capacity is 1020 MW, the average electricity generation is 2.6 billion kW.
To date, the equipment of the station is very outdated and is undergoing an upgrade process. Thanks to pressure structures, the Votkinsk reservoir was formed. Its total area is 1120 km 2. As a result of the appearance of an artificial reservoir, more than 6.5 thousand buildings were under the threat of flooding, 73 thousand hectares of agricultural land were flooded.
History of the construction of a hydraulic structure
In 1955, the USSR Council of Ministers ordered the construction of a hydroelectric station on the Kama River. Design and estimate documentation was developed by specialists of the Leningrad Institute "Hydroproject". According to the documents, the construction was designed for a generated capacity of 540 thousand kW. Subsequently, engineers increased the capacity of the structure by 2 times. The project cost amounted to 246.5 million rubles. However, during the construction it was possible to save 5 million rubles.
The launch of the new station was carried out in stages. The work of the first two units began at the end of 1961. After 2 years, they launched the last - the tenth unit of the power plant. In the summer of 1966, testing of hydroelectric power stations was completed successfully. She was taken into commercial operation.
Accident at hydroelectric power station in 1962
In 1962, the first accident at the Votkinsk hydroelectric station occurred. This happened during construction work in one of the lock chambers. As a result of the designers' mistake, on May 10, a large-scale collapse of the gateway wall occurred, the length of which is 110 m. As a result of the disaster, water gushed into the inter-chamber space and into one of the chambers. The ship "Dmitry Furmanov", which docked near the scene of the accident, dragged into the opening. The crew tried to avoid a shipwreck by turning on the engines at full power. But all was inconclusive.
To save the passenger ship, on board which was 475 people, was able to cargo ship "Kriushi". Sailors threw cables to the distressed ship for a catch, and then together they avoided the tragedy. While the sailors were fighting for human lives, engineers were able to block the flow of water into the airlock.
As a result of the emergency, 21 people died, 15 people were injured. The state suffered major damage, the amount of which is 2.5 million rubles. According to the results of the inspection, high-ranking officials were convicted, among them the acting chief engineer R. Radetsky and the head responsible for the construction of the facility on the Kama River, V. I. Sevastyanov.
Hydroelectric designers avoided criminal liability. However, an indirect confirmation of their guilt is the fact that they did not receive state awards for their work. At the same time, about 350 builders who participated in the construction of the gigantic building were presented for awards. The release of the team of engineers from litigation is explained by the fact that in 1962 the Aswan waterworks was also built. This building was also designed by specialists from the Hydroproject. The country's authorities decided not to interrupt the construction of a large structure.
