18 March 15:27
Modernization under the New Energy program continues at the Krasnoyarsk HPP.
At the moment, hydraulic unit No. 3 is undergoing a major overhaul. It was stopped at the end of 2025, and the impeller was replaced in February. It is structurally different from the old one. The new wheels have a changed blade profile and their number. This made it possible to increase the efficiency of the hydraulic unit – now the machine is capable of delivering a maximum power of 500 MW over a wide range of pressures and water levels in the reservoir. Thanks to this, the hydroelectric power station will be able to increase power output during low-water periods.
“The equipment ordered by En+ was manufactured by the Russian plant Tyazhmash. The new impeller differs not only in shape, but also in material. Now it's stainless steel. It is more resistant to cavitation damage. The mass of the new impeller is 240 tons, the maximum diameter is 8650 mm, and the number of blades is 13,” explained the HPP specialists.
Lowering the wheel into the crater was the first step in the installation of the hydraulic turbine. After this, the turbine shaft is installed. The weight of the giant part is 100 tons, and its length is 7700 mm.
“For us, these are already normal processes in major repairs, because such repairs are ongoing, but from the outside, these are truly large-scale spectacles when the largest parts are installed in the “heart” of the hydraulic unit. Everyone involved understands that after the completion of the repair, all the large and small parts in a single complex hydraulic unit system will begin to participate in the main process – electricity generation,” shared Dmitry Pavshin, chief engineer of the Krasnoyarsk HPP.
In addition to the impeller, the oil pressure unit boilers were replaced on the updated hydraulic unit. They worked for more than 50 years.
“The oil pressure unit is part of the hydraulic turbine control system, which, in turn, ensures automatic and manual start and stop of the hydraulic unit, its stable operation in all modes, and participates in regulating the frequency of the power system. Replacement work is being carried out in connection with the fulfillment of the standard period,” said Vladimir Markov, head of the turbine shop at the Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station.
At the Krasnoyarsk HPP they note that they pay attention not only to the main equipment, but also work with auxiliary equipment on a daily basis. So, with the onset of spring, devices for artificially creating a polynya were dismantled at the station. In winter, they protected the spillway gates, which must be ready to let water through at all times, from icing.
“In order to prevent icing of the gates at the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power station, a lane formation system is being installed near the dam on the upstream side. It is intended to protect the gates themselves from ice pressure during the installation of freeze-up of the Krasnoyarsk reservoir,” says Alexey Murashev, head of the hydraulic engineering department of the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power station.
The system is a pipeline laid on the crest of the dam with compressed air, on which taps are installed. In mid-December, when usually the ice on the reservoir begins to approach the dam, Divnogorsk power engineers attach a flexible air hose with an aerator to this pipeline. It, in turn, when immersed to a depth of 1.5-2 meters in the reservoir, creates upward air currents in the water surface (this can be seen from the bubbles rising from the water) and thereby prevents freeze-up near the dam and icing of the gates themselves.
Before installing the mine former, employees of the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power station monitor changes in air temperature and visually track the distance from the freeze-up to the dam, but the decision to dismantle is made when the reservoir level drops to 232.98 during the winter period. It is when this mark is reached that the risk of icing of the valves and ice pressure is eliminated, because The water level in the upper pool drops below the gates themselves.
