The Saratov Hydroelectric Station or the Saratov GES (russian: Саратовская ГЭС) also known as the Lenin Komsomol Saratov Hydroelectric Power Station (russian: Саратовская ГЭС имени Ленинского Комсомола) is a

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

power plant on the

River Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchmen ...

that is located in

Balakovo Balakovo ( rus, Балако́во, p=bəlɐˈkovə) is a city in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located on the East bank of the Volga River about northeast of Saratov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History It was founded in 1 ...

Saratov Oblast Saratov Oblast (russian: Сара́товская о́бласть, ''Saratovskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Saratov. As of the 2010 Cen ...

, 130 km northeast from the city of Saratov,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

History

The plant was built as part of the massive post-war industrialisation plan ''The

great construction sites of communism Great Construction Projects of Communism (russian: Великие стройки коммунизма) is a phrase that used to identify a series of the most ambitious construction projects and had great importance for the economy of the Soviet Uni ...

'', which was to form a Volga-Kama Cascade of hydroelectric dams. Construction was authorised by an order from the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union on June 1, 1956. Although the initial design had to be altered in interests of practical reasons, the delay was long enough to allow the

Kuybyshev GES The Zhiguli Hydroelectric Station or Zhigulyovskaya Hydroelectric Station (russian: Жигулёвская ГЭС, Zhigulyovskaya GES++), formerly known as Kuybyshev Hydroelectric Station (Kuybyshev GES) is a large dam and hydroelectric station ...

to come online and provide direct power to the new building site. Many of the workers moved to the new city of

and their experience proved to be invaluable. The construction was declared to be all-union and in particular took a massive input from the nation's youth. Because of their large input the station was later named after the Communist Youth League, the Komsomol. By autumn 1967 the dam was completed and the river was blocked and in December of that year the first four powerhouses became operational. Overall the station was declared to be completed in November 1971.

Technical details

Today the station consists of a 1,260 metre long, 40 metre high artificial dam flanked by landfilled earth dam which totals 14 kilometres in length, forming the

Saratov Reservoir Saratov Reservoir (russian: Саратовское водохрани́лище) is an artificial lake in the lower part of the Volga River in Russia formed by the dam of the Saratov Hydroelectric Station situated in the city of Balakovo. Filling ...

. The station is rated at 1,427 MW, producing an annual 5.352 billion KWh of energy. There are a total of 24 powerhouses, 8 rotor-blade at 66 MW, 13 rotor-blade at 60 MW and two horizontal turbines at 54 MW. In addition there is fishery path that generates a further 11 MW.

Economic value

Today the station is valuable asset to the Central region and the middle Volga. It powers several nearby industries and irrigates fertile land adjacent to it. Most of the city of Saratov is powered by the station; the rest of the energy is absorbed into the Russian national grid.

Powerlines

The two 500 kV Powerlines from Saratov Hydroelectric Station to Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant crosses Volga River in a 1.6 kilometres long span. The tower at Saratov Hydrolectric Station is 159 metres, that at the East shore of Volga River 197 metres tall. It is the tallest electricity pylon in Russi
Source

References

External links