HPP Cheboksary: photo, history, impact on the environment

The history of the Cheboksary HPP is closely intertwined with the history of the city on which it was built. It would be logical to assume that we are talking about Cheboksary (after all, the HPP is Cheboksary). However, this is not the case: Novocheboksarsk is considered a city of power engineers. In addition, this hydroelectric power plant is included in a huge project network, conceived in the last century. About all this and not only will be told further.

Cheboksary HPP in the top ten "Big Volga"

Under the blue skies, in the bosom of the nature of Chuvashia, in the middle of green massifs, on the banks of the Volga, a few kilometers from the capital of the republic, they conceived the construction of the Cheboksary hydroelectric power station in the 30s of the last century. It must be said that not one station was planned to be built. There was a project called "Big Volga", which was headed by a certain professor A. V. Chaplygin. According to the plan, a dozen hydrosystems were planned to be built, among them - the Cheboksary HPP (see photo below). These stations were supposed to deal not only with electricity generation, but also create all together deep-sea routes that would connect such seas as the White, Baltic, Black and Caspian. Founders thoroughly and all-Union undertook planning and carefully approached the implementation of this project.

Plan "Big Volga" in action

Already before the 1940s, 3 hydroelectric complexes out of 10 (Ivankovskaya, Uglich and Rybinsk stations) were built. And we would build further. However, the project had to be suspended: the Great Patriotic War began.

In the postwar years, the project "Big Volga" was revised and undergone significant changes. Instead of 10 hydrosystems, 13 were planned to be built, that is, in addition to the three stations already built, they planned the creation of six more hydroelectric power stations on the Volga River , and Cheboksarskaya - 4 on the Kama - was on the waiting list for the planned construction right after the Gorky, Volgograd and Kuibyshev stations.

Four kilometers below Cheboksary

In the 1950s, Hydroenergoproject (the institute that developed the plan) proposed the task of building a Cheboksary hydroelectric power plant in the Pichtulino area on its alignment (this is a conventional horizontal projection of the section of the river on which the dams are located). However, the plans were not destined to be realized again.

Eleven kilometers below Cheboksary

In the 1960s, the branch of Gidroenergoproekt in Kuibyshev corrected the choice of the alignment (instead of Pikhtulinsky selected Elnikovsky) and the presence of the main facilities of the Cheboksary station, and the correction touched the level of the reservoir (set at 68 meters).

City of Power Engineers

Before the implementation of the construction of the Cheboksary hydroelectric power station, a new settlement center near Cheboksary, on the Volga bank, was first constructed. Among them he was called the Satellite, a small town adjacent to the capital. But it quickly grew and expanded, including the surrounding villages. By the way, if the item began to be built in 1960, then he secured his status of the city in 1965. They wanted to name the young satellite Ilyichevsk, but changed their minds, and the city became Novocheboksarsk (if the name is literally translated from the Chuvash language, this is the New Cheboksary). Now it is the second largest city in the republic after the capital.

Living History

Due to the fact that Novocheboksarsk was rapidly expanding its borders, it easily formed its own construction complex, which not only erected residential areas with infrastructure, but also built industrial enterprises. Among which, of course, in the first three is the Cheboksary HPP. Therefore, Novocheboksarsk is often called the city of power engineers. It must be said that since the foundation of Novocheboksarsk the history of the city is developing in parallel with the history of the hydroelectric power station and is intertwined with it:

• 1960 - the year of foundation of Novocheboksarsk. In the same year, the Kuibyshev branch of Gidroenergoproekt was developing adjustments to the existing program for the construction of the Cheboksary HPP.
• In 1963, all amendments were officially recognized as effective, which resulted in the formation of a task to transfer the construction of the hydroelectric power station to the Yelnikovsky yard (that is, in fact, to the future Novocheboksarsk).
• In 1965, Novocheboksarsk was given the status of a city.
• In 1967, they created a department for the control of construction and the management of the hydropower station. The construction of the hydroelectric complex is declared all-Union.
• Since 1968, the first works and the main preparation for the construction of the hydrosystem have begun. The construction was somewhat delayed.
• Only in 1973 the planned concrete works are being carried out at the future station.
• In 1980, the first distribution substation of the hydroelectric power station (ORU) began to be operated.
• In November of the same year, the Volga is closed and continues to work, and on the last day of the year, the first hydraulic unit is launched at 61 meters (out of a possible 68).
• From 1981 to 1986, 17 hydropower units were put into operation.
• The building of the hydroelectric power station was completed by 1985, and the construction of the main hydroelectric plant was completed by 1986.

The Cheboksary hydroelectric power station is a living history, because the development, work and life of the station are unfolding in the eyes of contemporaries, its functioning undoubtedly bears fruit not only for Chuvashia, but for the country as a whole. However, this hydroelectric complex has a serious problem that has appeared since the day of its erection and is still unresolved.

Sixty-eight meters

I must say that, despite the work carried out and for 35 years of work for the benefit of the country and the country, the construction of this hydroelectric power station (Cheboksarskaya HPP) has not yet been completed, and it has not officially been put into operation. The reason is that even today the waterworks works at a reservoir elevation of 63 meters instead of the prescribed ones 68.

There are well-founded fears of shifting to the level of 68: this is the negative impact of the Cheboksary HPP on the environment. It is assumed that raising the mark of the reservoir will lead to a number of problems in Chuvashia, the Republic of Mari El and the Nizhny Novgorod region. Among them there is a possible flooding of certain areas, deterioration of drinking water quality, destruction of shores, possible ecological catastrophe, damage to agriculture and forestry complex. Already for 35 years, unfortunately, this problem does not find its solution.

To date, the owner of all the facilities of the Cheboksary hydroelectric power plant is the RusHydro company.