The Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Plant: +1 = 8!

The Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Angara River is a fascinating facility with an equally fascinating history. Construction began way back in 1954 – over 70 years ago. The first turbine unit came online in 1961, with the rest phased in gradually. For about eight years this power plant held the title of the world’s largest by installed capacity. (Fun fact: the crown then passed to another Soviet plant, the Krasnoyarsk HPP.) Anyway, here’s the Bratsk HPP:

A mightily powerful structure…

This is officially the eighth hydro-plant I’ve been lucky enough to visit. You can find the others described and snapped here.

Regular readers will know I’m always thrilled to tour industrial facilities. They’re just so unlike your regular metropolis office-based workplaces! When you take excursions around them you actually see and understand how the world works. Even though my hydro-plant count is creeping toward double digits, every visit still brings that same rush of excitement. And of course, there’s always the obligatory turbine-hall tour:

The sheer scale of these rooms – and of the visible sections of the turbines – is mind-blowing. They’re just humungous!…

Some turbines were running and generating power, others were idle (no need for extra capacity just now), and one was shut down for maintenance:

The turbine hall tour was incredible. Daniil Beley, the supervisor, turned out to be an amazing guide. Hands down the best and most detailed explanation I’ve gotten at any of the eight hydro plants I’ve now visited. Respect and thanks!

There’s also a scale model of the power plant on display. You can see how everything fits together – even the service tunnels running through the concrete dam are meticulously rendered.

Daniil walked us through exactly how the station is built and operates: where the water flows, how they seal it off with gates for “dry” maintenance, and a million other details.

The one question he couldn’t answer? The height of a single unit! I still have no idea how many meters a turbine measures from the very bottom to the top of the turbine hall. He did mention the weight, but honestly, I’ve already forgotten that number.

What they’re especially proud of is the station’s lifetime output: 1.34 trillion kilowatt-hours! Just… wow! That’s an almost impossible number to wrap your head around. And the counter tracking it is gloriously old-school – analog and tube-style ->

The turbine hall, with turbines stretching off forever ->

Next, we head down below to the levels where the turbines actually spin. Here’s one – the rotating shaft of a unit:

Excursion – done. Massive, stunning, monumental heavy engineering…

I also had to face the cameras for a bit ->

The on-site cafeteria was a pleasant surprise – really good and tasty:

Power engineers, it turns out, have a sense of humor! ->

Oh, and there’s a palm tree growing in the turbine hall. Get this: the seed it grew from was a gift from… Fidel Castro during his official visit in 1963! Unfortunately, it’s a bit chilly here for tropical plants, but in a way it suits: the palm grows reaaaaally slowly, so it won’t ever get too big for the premises!…

The water in the Angara has this distinctive color: