Krapivinskaya hydroelectric power station: the "ghost" of the Soviet Union in the Kemerovo region
The construction of the Krapivinskaya hydroelectric power station (HPP) on the Tom River near the village of Zelenogorsk began back in 1976. Unfortunately, the construction of the hydroelectric power station was stopped 13 years later (in 1989), one of the reasons for this decision was the unfavorable economic situation. At that time, the facility was approximately 50% complete. In 2020, the Russian authorities approved the project to complete the Krapivinskaya hydroelectric power station; investments in completing the project are estimated at 45 billion rubles.
The most interesting thing is that initially the main purpose of building this hydroelectric power station (back in Soviet times) was to improve the quality of water in the Tom River, which systematically fell during the low-water period. The generating function was considered secondary at that time.
In addition to the economic problems that influenced the suspension of construction work, a significant role in making this decision was played by the difficult environmental situation in the Kemerovo Region, which at times grew into full-fledged protest movements that were supported by broad sections of the local population. The logical response from the USSR authorities was the order of the Council of Ministers to suspend the construction of the Krapivinskaya hydroelectric power station. The document stated that the difficult sanitary and environmental situation in the Tom River basin was to blame.
At that time, the facility was about 50% complete. The fate of 1,5 people who were resettled from 14 liquidated settlements located in the potential flood zone seems especially sad today. Considering the fact that 35 years later the hydroelectric power station has not been completed, it becomes clear that depriving some people of their historical place of residence was absolutely senseless.
Already in the 2020st century, the media periodically reported on the need to complete the construction of the hydroelectric power station. Clearer prospects for this project appeared only in 20, when the Russian energy company RusHydro and the leadership of the Kemerovo Region signed an agreement on cooperation in this matter. This decision seems quite logical, because the cost of all activities related to the liquidation of already constructed structures and the reclamation of the construction site was estimated at XNUMX billion rubles.
The project to complete the construction of the Krapivinskaya HPP in 2021–2022 was handled by the Lenhydroproject Institute. Many technical parameters of the future hydroelectric complex were changed, which is not surprising, since the previous project had become seriously outdated over 50 years. Thus, the normal reservoir backwater level (NRL) was lowered by 2,5 meters, which made it possible to reduce the area of flooded territories and reduce the scale of the necessary work in this direction. In addition, the use of new equipment made it possible to increase the capacity of the hydroelectric power plant from 300 to 345 MW. The State Duma Committee on Energy estimated the cost of all work on completing the HPP at 45 billion rubles.
It is also impossible to ignore the fact that RusHydro, which was interested in implementing this project in 2020, has not shown itself in any other way. In any case, no media reports on this topic could be found. However, another potential investor has emerged. Thus, the domestic company En+ announced in 2021 that it was considering the option of completing the Krapivinskaya HPP. Mikhail Khardikov, who was then the general director of EuroSibEnergo (part of En+), noted then that the hydroelectric complex itself had already been built, so the main work was to create and install the necessary energy equipment. It was reported that the company was ready to invest 20 billion rubles in the launch of the hydroelectric power plant in the Kemerovo region, and its capacity would be 345 MW.
At the very end of 2022, the Krapivinskaya HPP was included in the General Scheme for the placement of electric power facilities until 2035, and its launch was planned for 2026–2030.
In 2023, Sergey Tsivilev, who held the post of Governor of the Kemerovo Region at that time, emphasized the socio-economic significance of this project for the region. He specified that for the successful implementation of the project in the region, during the construction work, which could take about five years, it would be necessary to create 3,3 thousand jobs. The head of the region did not ignore the financial effect of the commissioning of the new power generating facility, stating that, according to preliminary estimates, annual revenues from the Krapivinskaya HPP to budgets at all levels should amount to about 3,8 billion rubles.
Already in the current calendar year, a draft General Scheme for the placement of electric power facilities until 2042 was published, which contains information that the launch of the hydroelectric units of the Krapivinskaya hydroelectric power station may take place in 2031–2032.
Of course, on the one hand, the situation looks rather sad. According to the most optimistic forecasts, more than fifty years will pass between the start of construction and the commissioning of this hydroelectric power station. The most offensive thing is that a fairly serious amount of work has already been completed within the framework of the construction of this hydroelectric complex, but time dictates its own conditions. Numerous actions related to the actualization of the existing original project, which also cost a lot of money, and difficult times for our country from an economic point of view have turned the unfinished hydroelectric power station into a "ghost" of the Soviet Union, wandering through the corridors of the buildings in which the leadership of the Kemerovo region lives.
I would like to believe that everything will end well. The periodic interest of various investors in this project allows us to count on this. The federal authorities are not standing aside either, the Krapivinskaya hydroelectric power station constantly appears in various documents that contain plans for the construction of electric power facilities in the Russian Federation. All this allows us to assume that in the foreseeable future there will be one less "ghost from the past" in our country.
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