Verkhne-Tulomskaya hydroelectric station

The construction of the hydroelectric power station began in 1961, and ended in 1966 . The first hydraulic unit was launched in 1964 , the hydroelectric power station was put into commercial operation on October 27, 1965 . The Verkhne-Tulomskaya hydroelectric station is a dam-derivation hydroelectric power station with diverting derivation (most of the pressure is created by the dam). The installed capacity of the power plant is 268 MW , the average annual electricity generation is 860.3 million kWh ^[1] .

The uniqueness of the hydroelectric power station is the underground location of the machine room, at a depth of 50 m under water. On the surface there is an office building, a water intake and an open switchgear.

The composition of hydroelectric power plants ^[2] :

• a stone-earthen dam with a loam core of 1310 m long and a maximum height of 46.5 m;
• concrete spillway dam with a length of 47 m and a maximum height of 29 m;
• a spillway channel 320 m long;
• concrete blank dam 62 m long and 12 m high;
• a fish passage with a length of 1960 m with an underground fish elevator (not in operation; a fish factory was established in the premises);
• a device for mechanical transshipment of timber (currently not operational, partially dismantled);
• water intake;
• four tunnel turbine conduits with a length of 68 m;
• the underground building of the hydroelectric power station 93 m long, 19 m wide and 37 m high (installation site 8.5 m long, the distance between the axes of the hydraulic units is 18 m);
• outlet tunnel 652 m long;
• a 1300 m long discharge channel, of which 270 m passes in a rocky excavation /

Four hydroelectric power units with a capacity of 67 MW each were installed in the hydroelectric power station with rotary-vane turbines operating at a design head of 58.5 m. The hydroelectric pressure facilities (pressure front length 1.4 km) form a large Verkhnetulomskoe reservoir with an area of ​​745 km², a full and useful capacity of 11 , 52 and 3.86 km³. When creating the reservoir, 200 hectares of farmland were flooded, 50 buildings were transferred. ^[3]

The hydropower plant was designed by the Lenhydroproject Institute, built by the Finnish company Imatran-Voima ^[4] .

The hydroelectric station was built by Finnish builders. In the best of times, 3,000 Finnish men and 250 Finnish women participated in the construction. A village with a developed infrastructure was built: cottage-type residential buildings, a school, a kindergarten, a stadium, an electric boiler room, a bathhouse, a laundry, a hotel, shops, a fire station, and sewage treatment plants. ^[five]

Verkhne-Tulomskaya Hydroelectric Power Station has been a part of PJSC TGK-1 since 2005.

Verkhne-Tulomskaya hydroelectric power station plays a key role in the energy system of the Murmansk region, being the main regulatory station. Until 1975, the station served as a frequency regulator in the Kola power system. Today, it participates in a scheme for automatically regulating the transmission of electricity to Karelia and serves as a rapidly introduced reserve for the northern energy region. Power lines connect the hydroelectric power station with Murmansk, settlements and enterprises of the Pechenga district.

In 2015, a project was launched to modernize the Verkhne-Tulomskaya HPP. The main tasks of modernization are replacing obsolete equipment and improving operational reliability, taking into account the requirements for hydropower operation modes. Given the importance of the Verkhne-Tulomskaya HPP for the energy system of the Murmansk region, the highest demands are made on modernization - new equipment must meet modern standards of reliability, safety and environmental friendliness. The project will be implemented in stages over several years. The first stage of the project involves the replacement of hydro-generating (turbines, generators) and electrical equipment (switches, disconnectors, transformers) of two of the four hydraulic units with an increase in the capacity of each hydraulic unit by 8 MW.

With the flooding of Lake Notozero in 1965, 60 settlements went under water (some were non-residential) such as Ustye Lotta, Lutto (Lotta), Nivankyulya , Songelsk , Ristikent , Novy , Vaga Guba , Kentishi , etc. ^[6] .

The fish passage of the Verkhne-Tulomskaya hydroelectric station turned out to be unsuccessful and is not exploited, due to the complete extermination by people of salmon (Verkhnetuloma herd), which passed through the fish passage during the spawning period. ^[7]

In 1992, in the underground transport tunnel of the Verkhnet-Tulomskaya hydroelectric station, a fish hatchery was specially designed for these conditions, using warm water from the generator cooling system and warm air from the machine room. Construction was carried out by the Finnish company A / O Atri. The hatchery is a unique aquaculture company specializing in trout farming in the Far North, which has existed for 20 years and uses a clean reservoir that does not have industrial emissions. The plant includes an incubation workshop from 28 pools where fry are grown, and a broodstock workshop. Upon reaching a certain weight, fry are sold to fisheries, mainly in the Murmansk region and the Republic of Karelia.

• Butler M.I., Zhdanova A.P., Lushnikov O.G., Plum I.V. Renewable energy. Hydroelectric power stations of Russia. - SPb. : Publishing House of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, 2018 .-- 224 p. - ISBN 978-5-7422-6139-1 .

• Description of the Verkhne-Tulomsky hydroelectric complex on the site of the Lenhydroproject Institute
• Official website of TGC-1

• A film about Finnish builders in Upper Tuloma in 1964.
• Vesti24: Report on the beginning of the modernization of the Upper Tulomskaya HPS https://www.vesti.ru/videos/show/vid/770053/#
• TV-21: The plot of the Tuloma hydroelectric station for the 80th anniversary of the Murmansk region http://www.tv21.ru/news/2018/05/03/kak-nachalas-epoha-vtorogo-solnca-zapolyarya