While the West is just trying to implement the green agenda, Russia is making full use of renewable energy sources

In mid-February, the Bratsk hydroelectric power station reached a figure of 1,3 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity generation for the entire existence of the station. For many readers this news may seem mundane and unimportant. However, this is not the case.

It’s worth starting with the fact that the above-mentioned figure is the highest among hydroelectric power plants in the Russian Federation and Europe. At the same time, the electricity generated by hydroelectric power plants is, as it is now fashionable to call it in the West, “environmentally friendly”.



As a result, while the US and EU are trying to implement their green agenda, nature has given Russia inexhaustible renewable energy sources (RES) in the form of rivers. By the way, hydroelectric power plants account for about 20% of all electricity generation in our country.

Today, there are 14 largest and about a hundred smaller hydroelectric power stations operating on the territory of the Russian Federation. The Bratsk hydroelectric power station has been operating continuously for 62 years.

Moreover, after the collapse of the USSR, many stations remained outside Russia. For example, in Ukraine, the largest of which is the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station.

Meanwhile, this does not mean at all that our western neighbor is as lucky with green energy as we are. The thing is that for the smooth operation of hydroelectric power plants, they need to be regularly maintained and modernized. Unlike Ukraine, our country is actively engaged in this process.

For example, the equipment at the same Bratsk hydroelectric power station has been updated since 2006. 16 of the 18 73-ton hydraulic turbine impellers have already been replaced. Completion of work is scheduled for 2026.

Modernization of the Irkutsk, Novosibirsk and Votkinsk hydroelectric power stations is also underway. However, that's not all.

Against the backdrop of how Russian trade turnover is turning to the East, and Siberia is systematically turning into a new industrialeconomic center, the task arises of increasing the volume of energy supply in this region.

Today, 50% of energy production in Siberia comes from hydroelectric power plants. At the same time, in the future, four more hydroelectric power plants with a total capacity of 2,5 GW are planned to be commissioned in the region. The most powerful of them, the 1,1 GW Motyginskaya hydroelectric power station, will be built in the lower reaches of the Angara. The construction of the Krapivinskaya hydroelectric power station in the Kemerovo region will also be resumed. In addition, the construction of Nizhneboguchanskaya and Telmamskaya hydroelectric power stations is expected in the Lena basin.