Contents
Electricity is the most important element in the life of modern man, the key to progress, comfortable life and scientific achievements. Now it is impossible to imagine humanity without energy, which helps to light the way, warm homes, facilitate hard work and travel long distances.
More recently, man has learned to produce, transmit and use electricity. This knowledge radically changed both individual life and the course of history as a whole. Having harnessed this power, we have made a breakthrough in almost all areas of science, technology, and medicine.
Cities have become cleaner, brighter, warmer and safer. The Internet, television, a vast network of communications – all this simply would not exist without the orderly movement of charged particles.
In our rating, we will talk about the ten largest power plants in Russia: hydroelectric power plants, nuclear power plants and state district power plants, whose work helps us to exist and feel comfortable.
10 Novovoronezh NPP, 2597 MW
Novovoronezh NPP – one of the oldest nuclear power plants, built in 1964 and providing the Voronezh region with electricity by almost 90%.
Another obviously important merit of the station is that it supplies the nearby city of Novovoronezh with heat by more than 50%. The nuclear power plant is located on the banks of the mighty Don River, 40 kilometers from Voronezh.
9. Leningrad NPP, 4000 MW
One of the most powerful nuclear power plants is located 35 kilometers from the northern capital of our country, capable of generating 4000 MW of electricity.
Leningrad NPP built in 1973 in Sosnovy Bor. The station spends about 9% of the energy received for its own needs, and the total contribution to the nuclear industry is almost 15%
8. Kalinin NPP, 4000 MW
Kalinin NPP launched in 1984 and is currently capable of generating 4000 MW of electricity. The nuclear power plant is located in the Tver region, at a distance of about 350 kilometers from Moscow.
The NPP supplies electricity to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Vladimir uninterruptedly. In addition, the station covers more than 80% of the needs of the Tver region and almost completely supplies the city of Udomlya, located 4 kilometers from the Kalinin NPP, with energy for industrial needs.
Interesting fact: the nuclear power plant even became the location for one of the computer games, where the main mission was to free the plant from hostile forces and return control over it to the leadership of the Russian Federation.
7. Balakovo NPP, 4000 MW
Balakovo NPP – a nuclear power plant that produces 4000 MW of electricity. This miracle of engineering and construction is located in the Saratov region, not far from the city of Balakovo.
Built in 1982, the station is the largest element of the nuclear power industry in Russia. It generates more than 75% of electricity in Saratov and supplies it to other regions of our homeland, such as the Urals, Siberia, the Volga and Central parts of Russia.
Despite the biased attitude towards nuclear energy, not a single case of any pollution of the ecology and the environment has been detected during the entire operation of the station. In addition to the necessary electricity, the station provides more than 3750 jobs for people with higher and secondary education.
6. Kostromskaya GRES 3600 MW
Kostroma GRES built in 1969 and capable of generating 3600 MW of electricity. GRES is located in the Kostroma region, in the city of Volgorechensk. It is considered one of the most modern and very powerful power plants, generating more than 3% of all electricity produced in our country.
Kostroma GRES can be safely called a fairly environmentally friendly station, because its main fuel is not coal, but natural gas, which is many times cleaner, and there is no soot when it is burned.
The current generated by the Kostroma power plant feeds such large Russian subjects as the Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, Vladimir and Yaroslavl regions, and in addition, it is supplied to neighboring countries.
5. Reftinskaya GRES, 3800 MW
Reftinskaya GRES – power plant located in the Sverdlovsk region. The power of this state district power station is 3800 MW, the station operates on a solid type of fuel – coal.
The station was put into operation in 1980 to provide electricity to the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Tyumen and Perm regions with their large and important industrial facilities for Russia.
The management of the State District Power Plant pays great attention to the protection of the environment, carrying out a number of important works to reduce harmful emissions, which are common when burning coal.
4. Surgutskaya GRES, 5597 MW
Surgutskaya GRES — the largest thermal power plant generating 5597 MW of electricity for the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug. The construction of such an important and complex engineering structure was due to the active development of the territory, the increased number of discovered oil and gas fields, as well as the active settlement of the region.
In addition to its main task of generating electricity, the station also supplies people with the heat needed in this frosty region. The construction of this giant started in 1968 and, 15 years later, in 1983 it was completely completed.
3. Bratskaya HPP, 4500 MW
Bratsk Hydro Power Plant is located on the Angara River, in the Irkutsk region, near the city of Bratsk. It generates 4500 MW of electricity and is the first hydroelectric power plant in Russia in terms of average annual output and the third in terms of capacity.
The height of the dam is 125 meters, and the length is almost one and a half kilometers. The construction, which began in 1954, was completed with the commissioning of the last unit in 1966.
The Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Plant plays a crucial role in supplying electricity to the largest factories and combines, providing energy to the inhabitants of the region. The famous aluminum plant in Bratsk operates solely on the power generated by this power plant.
2. Krasnoyarskaya HPP, 6000 MW
Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power station reaches a power output of 6000 MW. The HPP is located near the city of Divnogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory. The station ranks second among the most powerful power plants in Russia. It alone covers about 30% of the needs of the inhabitants of the Krasnoyarsk Territory in electricity.
The most energy-intensive and one of the most important consumers is the aluminum smelter in Krasnoyarsk. In addition to the main task of the hydroelectric power station, it also serves as a shield that protects the area in its lower reaches from floods.
The decision on the need for this facility, which was made on July 14, 1955, can be considered the beginning of construction. The end of the implementation of the much-needed project and the commissioning took place in 1982.
1. Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, 6400 MW
Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Power Plant is the largest power plant in Russia in terms of the amount of electricity generated. The electrical power is 6400 MW. The HPP is located on the Yenisei, on the border of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Khakassia, near Sayanogorsk.
The Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP occupies an honorable place among the highest dams in the world and is the highest in Russia. The height of this structure is 242 meters, and the length is more than a kilometer. More than 9 million cubic meters of concrete were spent on the construction of this giant.
The official start of construction is 1963, and the final completion and commissioning of the facility took place in 2000.