The Dniester Pumped Storage Power Station is a pumped storage hydroelectric scheme that uses the

Dniester River The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...

northeast of

Sokyriany Sokyriany (, ; ) is a small city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast (province) of Ukraine, Northern Bessarabia. It hosts the administration of Sokyriany urban hromada, one of the hromada In Ukraine, a hromada () is the main type of mu ...

Chernivtsi Oblast Chernivtsi Oblast (), also referred to as Chernivechchyna (), is an oblast (province) in western Ukraine, consisting of the northern parts of the historical regions of Bukovina and Bessarabia. It has an international border with Romania and Moldo ...

, Ukraine. Currently, four of seven generators are operational and when complete in 2028, the power station will have an installed capacity of .

Background

As part of the Dniester Hydro Power Complex, the pumped storage power station (PSPS) was planned in the 1970s along with two dams (Dniester I & II) and a nuclear power plant. In 1983, Dniester II, a dam which creates the PSPS's lower reservoir, was completed. The PSPS was approved by 1988 and construction began that same year. Three years later in 1991 though, construction was suspended due to a funding fallout from the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

. The project was re-approved in 1993 and construction commenced again in 2001. Project costs increased due to the poor state of the existing facilities which were not maintained while the project was suspended. On December 22, 2009, the PSP's first generator was commissioned. The second generator was commissioned in December 2013. The third generator was commissioned on 21 December 2015. Fourth generator was commissioned in July 2021. Ukraine's problems funding the project have been compounded by controversy surrounding the project's transparency and impacts on the environment and water flow to

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

downstream. Ukraine had sought funding from the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

who, in 2007, only funded US$29.6 million towards the PSP's electrical transmission system. Industry experts believe Ukraine will be able to complete the project independently. The power station is expected to be fully operational in 2020s.

Design and operation

The power station begins operation by using reversible turbines to pump water, during low energy demand periods, from the lower reservoir which is created by the Dniester HPP-II Dam, located to the southeast near the border with Moldova at . The lower reservoir has a storage capacity of . Water pumped from this reservoir is placed in the upper reservoir which is formed by a 360° "

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"-shaped

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface ...

. The upper reservoir has a storage capacity. During periods of high energy demand, water is released from the upper reservoir back to the power station for generation. This process is routinely repeated and helps balance loads. The difference in the two reservoirs affords a

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of . While only 4 are currently operational, the power station will contain 7 324 MW reversible

Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The pro ...

generators. Its installed capacity will be 2,268 MW when generating and during pumping, the power station will consume a maximum of 2,947 MW. Regulating flows into the lower reservoir is the Dniester HPP-I Dam which is located upstream, north of the power plant at . HPP-I has its own power plant with an installed capacity of 702 MW and a storage capacity of . HPP-II has an installed capacity of 40.8 MW.

References

{{reflist, 33em Hydroelectric power stations in Ukraine Pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in Ukraine Landmarks in Chernivtsi Oblast Buildings and structures in Chernivtsi Oblast State companies of Ukraine Companies based in Chernivtsi Oblast Dams on the Dniester

Background

Design and operation

See also

References