Construction of the Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP, Amur Region

In recent years in Russia it was decided to actively develop the Far Eastern regions. The first thing that needs to be done in the chain of life support and development stimulation is the full generation and distribution of electricity. For these purposes, a cascade of HPPs, located on the Bureya River, is being built in the Amur Region. In 2003, the Bureyskaya station was commissioned, in 2016 it is planned to commission the Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP.

History of the 30-ies

In 1932 of the last century, research was begun on the potential of the Bureya River in the Amur Region. Then the research was carried out by the Institute "Hydroproject". An exploratory tunnel was re-opened, reopened when the construction of the first stage of the Bureisk cascade was started. For Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP, a place was identified in the Doldykansky range, the dislocation is located 950 meters above the place where the Dydykan River flows into Bureya.

The first technical project was created in 1959, and in 1986 it was approved. The implementation of large-scale strategic construction was frozen in connection with the transition period of the economy, which began with the collapse of the USSR. Of the planned activities, only people from flooded areas were resettled.

The hydropower plant was born in the 2000s

The construction of the Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP was resumed in 2007, but the project required adjustments. In the original plan, the installation of three 107 MW hydroelectric units was planned, but adaptation to modern capabilities required increasing their number to four, but less than 80 MW. It was also decided to replace the projected earth dam on the right bank with a concrete wall. Other details of the original project are also improved. All changes and approvals were completed in 2011, and construction began at the same time.

Design Features

The total length of the pressure front line of the Nizhne-Bureyskaya station (Amurskaya oblast, Bureyskiy district) is almost 746 meters, its height at the maximum point is 42 meters. The base of the dam is water-permeable, this is provided by structures made of clay-concrete and a cementing veil.

For the discharge of water, a concrete spillway dam is built with a length of 123 meters and a height of 47.75 meters. Designed and constructed spillway surface type (5 units), which can overlap segmented by means of gates with hydraulic drives. There are repair gates, manipulations with which are carried out with the help of a gantry crane. The energy of the discharged water will be extinguished in a water well constructed of concrete, the length of which is 88 meters.

At the right bank of the Bureya River a channel building of the station is being built. Its length is almost 97 meters, height - about 58 meters. To strengthen the walls, work is under way to install a retaining concrete wall (length 100 meters). The hydroelectric power station will be equipped with four hydroelectric generators and hydro generators. Installation of equipment is carried out using bridge cranes. The capacity of the Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP is 1380 cubic meters of water per second. Electricity will be supplied via power lines of 220 kW to two substations: Arkhara and Raichikhinsk. The total number of workers in the construction during the delivery of the facility is planned to 2,300 people.

Reservoir

The Lower-Bureisk reservoir is formed with the end of the construction of pressure facilities. The useful capacity will be 77 million cubic meters, and the full capacity - 2034 million cubic meters of cubic water. The length of the reservoir is 90 kilometers, the maximum width is 5 kilometers, the average depth is 13 meters. It is planned that water exchange will be carried out once during a calendar month. It is planned that the filling of the reservoir after the start-up of all parts of the Bureya power cascade takes place within five to six days.

Under the flooding falls just under 1,000 hectares of agricultural land and almost 9,000 hectares of forest. The threat of flooding does not spread to populated areas. Prior to the launch of the station, it is planned to clean the future reservoir basin.

Fulfillment of plans

For the period from 2011 to 2015, the main work was carried out:

• The legal entity of Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP was established.
• The excavation for the main structures of the station was dug.
• Three highways have been constructed, high-voltage transmission lines have been connected.
• A concrete plant was built.
• The main structures of the hydroelectric power station are built.
• The residential infrastructure of the town around the station was built.
• By the end of 2015, the main construction work was carried out, including hydro turbine and hydromechanical facilities with laying foundations for hydraulic machines.
• The construction of a channel dam has begun.

Grounds for construction

The projected capacity of the Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP is 320 MW, the average annual output is 1.65 billion kW / h, in the winter time the planned capacity is 147 MW. The construction of the power plant is due to the need to regulate the uneven daily discharges of the more powerful Bureyskaya HPP operating upstream of the Amur River. This will avoid sudden fluctuations in the water level in the lower reservoir (tailfay).

The electricity generated by the Nizhny-Bureyskaya station will be directed to the needs of the Transneft facilities, and more specifically to the construction of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline, the coal field, the Vostochny cosmodrome. Electricity produced by the station will save about 700 tons of conventional fuel per year.

Amur Region, Bureysky District in particular, as a result of the construction of the infrastructure of the cascade of stations, will expand the opportunities for development, improve the living conditions of the population, attract additional investments and ensure the inflow of new labor.

Environmental effects

The places where Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP is located are almost untouched nature. There is a lot of controversy surrounding interference in the ecological system, local residents say that the climate has already changed. What will be the consequences will be known only in the distant future.

During the design of the cascade of power plants, environmental measures were planned and implemented. In the flood zone of the Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP, the territories of the "Irkun Irkun" and "Zheludinsky" reserves were partially covered. To compensate for the loss of the territories of nature protection zones, a new reserve "Bureysky" was created. He united two reserves and received additional forest areas in the upper and lower reaches of the cascade of Bureyskiye HPPs. The total area of the Bureysky Reserve is 132,000 hectares.

In 2015, work was carried out to transfer unique samples of flora and fauna from the flooding zone. Yuri Gafarov, one of the ecologists who took part in the operation on the migration of flora and fauna, said that nesting grounds for mandarin ducks and families of Far Eastern storks were built. Also, winter huts and feeders for wild animals were made, a large number of unique plants were transplanted from the flooding zone to the territory of the new reserve.

Course of work

According to the reports of PJSC RusHydro, currently there is a planned installation of hydroelectric generators, and construction of the dam is also underway. In June 2016 the height of the dam was 131 meters above sea level, the design level - 140 meters. For the construction of the dam piles are hammered, work is being carried out without reducing the rates and corrections for the winter season. To drill holes during the laying of piles in winter used drilling rigs and heating industrial devices. Amur frosts did not spare equipment and people, but planned work was always done on time.

According to S. Nikulin, the engineer of the production and technical department of the company "Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP", said in August 2016, all the works are going according to the planned schedule. In particular, he said that the impeller is already installed, mortgages for hydraulic units have been made and a turbine starter has been installed. According to him, the progress of work is carried out in strict time frames, where there is no room for rush. Also, the engineer noted that fitting all the units of hydroelectric units requires almost jewelry accuracy, all the nodes are joined without the slightest gaps. He expressed confidence that the first current to the Far Eastern energy system will be received already in 2016. However, in connection with the crisis and a reduction in the financing of certain facilities, PJSC RusHydro mentions the possibility of moving the plant's launch to 2017.

Overlapping of the Bureya River took place on April 19, 2016, water flows now pass through the spillway systems of the hydroelectric power station. The readiness of concrete structures for the construction of the station is currently estimated at 90%.

Interesting Facts

On the bookmark of the Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP came V. Putin and as a kind sign in the first concrete pour cast wristwatch. Consecrated the beginning of the construction of Bishop Lukian, he also gave the builders a growth monument of the golden Angel, which is now installed at the highest place of the hydroelectric power station, becoming the symbol and guardian of the construction site, and then the whole cascade of hydroelectric power stations.

To date, a complex of stations on the Bureya River is the most ambitious project in post-Soviet Russia, built without reference to the legacy of the USSR, which illustrates the country's potential and its real capabilities. Many people who have visited the area of work recommend visiting the place where the Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP will start work very soon. Address in the Amur Region: Bureysky District, Bureysky Settlement, Gidrostroiteley Microdistrict, Building 2, letter 3.