The Uglich Hydroelectric Station or Uglich GES () is a

hydroelectric station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is 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 sources combined and also m ...

on the

Volga River The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

Uglich Uglich ( rus, У́глич, p=ˈuɡlʲɪtɕ) is a historic town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River. Population: History The city was first documented in 1148 as ''Ugliche Pole'' (''Corner Field''). The town's name is thou ...

Yaroslavl Oblast Yaroslavl Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by the Tver Oblast, Tver, Moscow Oblast, Moscow, Ivanovo Oblast, Ivanovo, Vladimir Oblast, Vlad ...

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 is the first of the Volga-Kama cascade of dams. It began operating on December 8, 1940, making it one of the oldest hydroelectric plants in Russia. The 120-MW plant is operated by

RusHydro RusHydro (previous name: Hydro-OGK, ) is a Russian hydroelectricity company. As of early 2012 it had a capacity of 34.9 gigawatts. In late 2009, it was the world's second-largest hydroelectric power producer and is the country's largest p ...

. There is also a Russian hydropower museum located at the hydroelectric plant dedicated to the development of hydropower.

History

Plant construction began in 1935 and the first

excavator Excavators are heavy equipment (construction), heavy construction equipment primarily consisting of a backhoe, boom, dipper (or stick), Bucket (machine part), bucket, and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house". The modern excavator's ...

arrived in January 1936. The plant's design was approved on May 23, 1938 by the

Economic Council An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

of the

USSR Council of People's Commissars The Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union was the highest collegial body of executive and administrative authority of the Soviet Union from 1923 to 1946. As the government of the Soviet Union, the Council of People's Commissars of th ...

, modeled after the Rybinsk hydroelectric station.

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

prisoners were used in the construction. Many villages and the old part of

Kalyazin Kalyazin () is a town and the administrative center of Kalyazinsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volga River, northeast of Tver, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History A ''sloboda'' ( ...

were flooded by the

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

created by the dam. Some of the oldest buildings in the region, including the 15th-century Intercession Monastery in Uglich and the 16th-century Trinity Monastery in Kalyazin, were submerged by the reservoir. The first

hydroelectric generator 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 ...

went into operation on December 8, 1940, and the second began operating on March 20, 1941.

Upgrades

In 2007

Voith Hydro The Voith Group is a global technology company. With its broad portfolio of systems, products, services and digital applications, Voith trades in the markets of energy, paper, raw materials and transport. Founded in 1867, Voith today has aroun ...

acquired a contract to replace the second hydroelectric generator at the plant, after almost 70 years of operation. The generator's operation had fallen from an initial 55 MW to 35 MW after years of deterioration. The estimated cost of the replacement was 34 million euros. The new generator was finished in 2011 and RusHydro began modernizing the plant's first generator in June 2011, with plans to complete the equipment replacement by 2020. In 2024 a new rotor of the hydraulic unit was installed, replacing the one that was installed in 1940.

References

External links

{{Volga River Dams in Russia Hydroelectric power stations built in the Soviet Union Hydroelectric power stations in Russia Buildings and structures in Yaroslavl Oblast 1940 establishments in the Soviet Union Dams completed in 1940 Dams on the Volga River Cultural heritage monuments of regional significance in Yaroslavl Oblast