The Most Powerful Thermal Power Plant In Russia

Posted on May 5, 2013 by team

Surgut state thermal power plant is one of the most powerful power plants in Russia. The CPP of high power functions within the system along with other large power stations and is located in Surgut, the Khanty-Mansiisk region of Russia.

Due to the rapid growth of oil and gas mining there appeared a shortage of energy in the region. What they had to do was to produce fivefold more energy than they did. So it was decided to build a a new power station in Surgut – in the oil capital of Russia.

The work started in 1979 and in 1985 the first unit of the plant was put into service. Six major units joined it in the period of 1985-88.

Under the initial project there had to be eight 800 MW power units and the general output had to amount to 6400 MW. Thus it had to become the most powerful thermal power station in the whole world. But two remaining associated gas units did not come into operation and one of the three pipes of the power plant has not been used.

Today the power plant output is 5597,1 MW including 797,1 MW – the output of two new combined cycle power units which were put to use in 2011. It makes this thermal power plant the most powerful one in Russia, and the second the world.

The seventh and eighth 400 MW power units were being built beyond the initial project. They use purified natural gas as fuel.

Power units №7 и №8. In the background – the Surgut thermal power plant-1.

Gas-turbine units (like the seventh and the eighth ones of the Surgut thermal power plant) have a higher power efficiency being more eco-friendly and consuming less water.

In 2012 they showed the record breaking coefficient for all the history of the plant – 39,967 billion kWh of electric power. From the moment when the first unit was put into operation the thermal power plant has produced more than 820 billion kWh.

The Surgut thermal power plant uses oil gas (70%) and natural gas (30%). That’s why it is more eco-friendly than any other thermal station applying coal.

Gas is the cleanest fuel and it does not produce soot. Besides, it is purified on the way to the power plant. Sulphur and other admixtures are thoroughly removed from it. At the Surgut thermal power plant they burn gas at very high temperatures and not in the open way, so they minimize combustion products emissions which are the main pollutants of the environment.

The thermal station also provides energy for the eastern part of Surgut.

These pipes are 273 m high.

Surgut GRES-2 stands close to another powerful plant – Surgut GRES-1. They both form two reservoirs participating in the water recycling systems cooling the heat exchangers of both GRES.

Inside the units: you see the turbine hall with six steam generators.

This steam generator produces 2650 tons of steam an hour. On the photo above you see only one half of the whole generator, its general height is seventy meters.