By the end of the year, the company also plans to choose a supplier for new hyudraulic units for the Chiryurtskaya-1 station in Dagestan and the Gizeldonskaya station in North Ossetia.
The modernisation of the Mainskaya hydropower station, with a capacity of 321 megawatts (MW), began in 2020., when RusHydro began replacing hydraulic units brought into service in 1984-1985.
The first of the three units, denoted as station no, 3, was replaced in 2021. The second replacement (station no. 1) is slated for 2022. The dismantling of the old unit was completed in January. The moderation of the station will be completed at the end of 2023 and by that time, not only will the third hydraulic unit be replaced (statin no, 2), but also the power transformers.
Maintenance at the station has also included installation of new generator switches, sulfur hexafluoride equipment and power protection systems.
A unified hydrotechnical complex is to be set up at the Sayano-Shushenskaya power station and the Mainskaya station will smooth out water fluctuation problems that emerged when the operating system was changed. In addition to Mainskaya, similar techniques will be carried out at two other hydropower stations — Miatlinskaya station making up a part of the Sulakskaya Cascade power station in Dagestan, and the Nizhne-Bureiskaya hydropower station in Amur region.
RusHydro adopted its programme of modernisation of hydro generating sites in 2011 and has replaced 126 turbines, 111 generators and 82 power transformers – enabling the company to bring up its installed capacity of modernised hydropower stations by 465 MW. By way of comparison, the intalled capacity of Australian hydropower stations, in the period from 2011 to 2020, rose by 257 MW (to 8,528 MW), according to data from theIinternational Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
