High and low pressure compressor station modernized at Mainskaya HPP
17.10.2019
PJSC RusHydro within the framework of the program for the comprehensive modernization of hydro-generating facilities, it carried out the technical re-equipment of the high and low pressure compressor station at the Mainskaya HPP. Obsolete compressor equipment was dismantled, six new high and low pressure compressors were installed, and a modern compressor unit control system was introduced. Integrated into the existing automated process control system, the compressor unit control system now allows you to change the priority of equipment operation in manual and automatic modes, as well as by operating time with the possibility of remote visualization, control and data logging in the archive. The purpose of the project — reduce operating and maintenance costs, improve the system reliability of HPPs, as well as switch compressor equipment from air to water cooling. The work was carried out at the existing facility without stopping the technological process with minimal interference with the operation of the HPP.
The modernization of the Mainskaya HPP also involves the replacement of hydropower equipment that has exhausted its resource; the first hydroelectric unit of the Mainskaya HPP was put into operation in 1984. The commissioning of the first updated hydroelectric unit of the station is scheduled for the end of 2021, it is planned to complete the replacement of hydroelectric units in 2023. In addition, outdated switchgear equipment has already been replaced with modern 220 kV switchgear, generator switches and electrical protection. Also, a project is being implemented to replace the station's power transformers.
Reference
The Mainskaya HPP with an installed capacity of 321 MW is located below the largest power plant in Russia — Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP and acts as its counter-regulator. The reservoir of the Mainskaya HPP regulates water level fluctuations that occur when the regimes of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP change. Thus, the most powerful hydroelectric power plant in Russia can, without consequences for water users downstream, change its capacity in accordance with the needs of the energy system.
