The Paatsjoki River hydroelectric power plants are a series of

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

installations on the Paatsjoki River.

Description

The

Paatsjoki The Paatsjoki River (, , , , , , ''Paz or Patsoyoki'') is a river that flows through Finland, Norway, and Russia. Since 1826, the river has marked parts of the Norway–Russia border, except from 1920 to 1944 when it was along the Finland–N ...

River flows from

Lake Inari Lake Inari (, , , , , ) is the largest lake in Sápmi and the third-largest lake in Finland. It is located in the northern part of Lapland, north of the Arctic Circle. The lake is above sea level, and is regulated at the Kaitakoski power plan ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and for most of its duration, it marks the border between

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. On the river there are several Norwegian and Russian hydroelectric stations. The operations of the stations is governed by several international agreements (Agreement between the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and Norway on 18 December 1957 about the usage of hydroelectric installations on the Paatsjoki River, Agreement from 29.04.59 about regulating the control of Lake Inari concerning hydroelectric installations and the Kaitakoski Dam between the Soviet Union,

, and

.) About 85% of the electricity produced by the series of Russian hydroelectric stations is exported abroad. The hydroelectric system operates automatically. The Russian hydroelectric installations belong to Territorial Generating Company № 1, based in

Saint-Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia. Hydroelectric stations Kaitakoski (Russia), Jäniskoski (Russia), Rajakoski (Russia), Hevoskoski (Russia), Skogfoss (Norway), Melkefoss (Norway), Borisoglebskaya (Russia) form the series of hydroelectric installations on the river. In total, all the hydroelectric stations have a power of 275.9

Megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s, and produce 1475 GWh per year . The list is in downstream order, from Lake Inari to the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...

Kaitakoski hydroelectric station

The Kaitakoski hydroelectric station () in Russia on the Paatsjoki River () began operation in 1959. The power station is owned and operated by

TGC-1 TGC-1 (also referred as TGK-1; full name: Territorial generating company number 1; , ''Territorial’naya generiruyushchaya kompaniya No 1''; traded as ) is a regional power company operating in Northwestern Federal District, North-West Russia. Th ...

power company. At the uppermost three stations, the river is entirely in Russia.

Jäniskoski hydroelectric station

The Jäniskoski hydroelectric station () () was constructed from 1938 to 1942, at that time on Finnish territory. Because Finland ceded territory to the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

after the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

, the power station is now on Russian territory. The power station was created to provide electrical energy for

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

mining in

Petsamo Petsamo may refer to: * Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922 * Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland * Pechengsky District Pechengsky District (; ; ; ; ) is an administrative district (raion), one of the six in Mur ...

. The power station was destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1944. After the war, the power station was rebuilt by Finnish firm Imatran Voima (today

Fortum Fortum Oyj is a Finland, Finnish Government of Finland, state-owned energy company located in Espoo, Finland. It mainly focuses on the Nordic countries, Nordic region. Fortum operates power plants, including co-generation plants, and generate ...

) on a contract with the

, and reentered operation in 1950. The power station is owned and operated by TGC-1 power company.

Rajakoski hydroelectric station

Beginning operation on 25 May 1956, the Rajakoski hydroelectric station () is a Russian hydroelectric station on the Paatsjoki River (). The station was built by Finnish firm Imatran Voima on a contract with the USSR. The power station is owned and operated by TGC-1 power company. It is located around from the border to Norway and south-east from the border tripoint at

Muotkavaara , ;, or , , or ) is a hill in Sápmi, Lapland at the boundary between Finland, Norway, and Russia. It is the second northernmost international tripoint in the world; the Three-Country Cairn, tripoint of Finland, Norway and Sweden is further to ...

Hevoskoski hydroelectric station

The Hevoskoski hydroelectric station (, ) on the Paatsjoki River (), was built between 1956 and 1970. The border goes in the river here, but the hydroelectric station is located on Russian territory. The power station is owned and operated by TGC-1 power company.

Skogfoss hydroelectric station

The Skogfoss hydroelectric station on the Paatsjoki River is a Norwegian hydroelectric station built in 1964. The border is in the river, but the station is on the Norwegian side ().

Melkefoss hydroelectric station

The Melkefoss hydroelectric station, built in 1978, is a Norwegian hydroelectric station on the Paatsjoki River. The border is in the river, but the station is on the Norwegian side ().

Borisoglebsky hydroelectric station

Built between 1960 and 1964, the Borisoglebsky hydroelectric station () on the Paatsjoki River is a Russian hydroelectric station () built under a water derivation system. The power station is owned and operated by TGC-1 power company. The border is in the river, but the station is on the Russian side. Named after the locality Borisoglebsky, Murmansk Oblast.

External links

Description of Borisoglebckaya hydroelectric station
on a Lenhydroproject webpage
Description of Khevoskoski hydroelectric station
on a Lenhydroproject webpage
Territorial Generating Company № 1's official website

{{in lang, ru Hydroelectric power stations in Norway Hydroelectric power stations in Russia TGC-1 Hydroelectric power stations built in the Soviet Union Norway–Soviet Union relations no:Pasvikelva#Vannkraftverk fi:Paatsjoki#Vesivoimalaitokset