Zagorsk Pumped Storage Station is located near Sergiev Posad, Russia. The project was approved in 1974, the first two generators operational in 1987 and the rest by 2000. Zagorsk-2 with a future installed capacity of 840 MW is currently being constructed adjacent to it.
Each pumped storage station is a unique construction which allows preserving energy to supply the power system when necessary. People living in the region have an approximately similar schedule – they wake up in the morning and switch on the lights and their electrical appliances, boil water for morning tea or coffee and this is when the region needs a lot of power. When people go to work, the energy-requirement decreases to rise again then they return home from work.
The storage plant consists of two reservoirs located at different levels and a machinery hall in between. At night, when people use little electricity, they pump water from the lower reservoir into the upper one. In rush hour, the water returns back to the lower reservoir turning the generators, thus producing electricity.
“No entry”.
Zagorsk-1 has six hydraulic units with an installed capacity of 1,200 MW. It was Russia’s first power plant of that type.
Currently, they are replacing their old control equipment with new microprocessor automated systems.
This thing is as reliable as it was 30 years ago but it will be replaced too.
The total load-carrying ability of these two bridge cranes is 320 tons.
They have access to any part of the machinery hall to be able to unload delivery trucks which bring all kinds of equipment to the station.
Under the machinery hall, there are generators, transformers and hydraulic unit wheels.
“Attention! Working equipment!”
Under the machinery hall, there are generators, transformers and hydraulic unit wheels.
Generators have an output voltage of about 15,000 V.
Hydraulic unit wheels are extremely heavy and their weight amounts to hundreds of tons.
Sometimes, hydraulic units attract workers’ attention with lights indicating that something is wrong (like low pressure in the reservoirs). After the pump pumps up enough air, the lights will go out. Red lights indicate danger. When they are on, urgent actions must be taken.
Ice which can be seen floating in the reservoirs in winter does not affect the work of the station.
Zagorsk-2 is a station which is currently under construction. Right now, they are building a machinery hall and a water conduit.
That mark on the right of the photograph indicates the minimum level of water in the reservoir.
The water conduit is a huge pipe made of metal and concrete which has a diameter of 7 m. Its walls are 50 cm thick. The pipe consists of segments separated from each other with rubber washers which prevent the pipe from cracking when laid. Each segment has a weight of 70 tons.
Concrete they use is very strong. Sometimes, it takes it 180 days to harden.
They have built some part of the roof already.
They assemble stators in the machinery hall. They are very heavy and can be moved only by bridge cranes. Here they also test the durability of their cranes with that vertical column.
Some part of the machinery hall is enclosed by a screen. You will find heat guns and air filters there.
They remove about 70,000 m3 of ground from their reservoirs daily. It is mostly imported equipment that can be found working at the construction site.
People work in three shifts here. They want to put the station into operation as soon as possible.
Location: Sergiyev Posad
via kt_819
