Uglegorsk TPP is one of the two most powerful thermal power plants in Ukraine with a peak capacity of 3600 MW. The structure of the enterprise includes 7 power units, four of which are designed to burn gas coal, the remaining three operate on fuel oil or natural gas. The station is a structural subdivision of the Public Joint Stock Company Centrenergo.
Description
Uglegorsk TPP is a powerful heat and power complex capable of generating up to 3,600 MW of electricity, which is an absolute record for Ukrainian TPPs. A similar station, built according to the same project, is located near Zaporozhye.
Uglegorsk TPP is designed to provide heat and electricity to consumers in the Donetsk region, the most industrially developed region. The station consists of two parts: the first is focused on working with coal of gas grades, the second - with gas (fuel oil).
Where isUglegorsk TPP
The thermal power plant is located within the administrative boundaries of the Donetsk region, in the Bakhmut district. At 2-3 kilometers from it are the settlements of Mironovsky, Novoluganskoye and the satellite city of Svetlodarsk, built for the maintenance personnel of the thermal power plant. The nearest large city is Gorlovka, located 8 km southeast of the station. Company address: 84792, Donetsk region, Svetlodarsk-1 city.
Characteristic
General information about the Uglegorsk TPP indicates that the design capacity of the most productive second stage is designed to receive 2400 MW. Three power units are installed in its halls, each of which is equipped with a 800 MW turbine unit and a gas-oil single-shell boiler with a steam capacity of 2650 t/h. Turbine units are equipped with cogeneration plants that produce 15 Gcal of heat per hour.
The first phase of the Uglegorsk TPP (which was destroyed by a fire in 2013) generates 1,200 MW. It includes 4 power units equipped with turbine units producing 300 MW of electricity each. Four pulverized coal-fired single-shell boilers have a steam capacity of 950 t/h. Heat from here is supplied to the city of power engineers Svetlodarsk and to various industrial sites.
Construction background
The history of the Uglegorsk TPP begins in the 60s of the XX century. By this time, the Donbass region, the neighboring Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Rostov regions had become one of the largest industrial clusters of the Soviet Union. The capacities of the already built power plants during peak periods were not enough. The government decided to build two of the largest capacitive power plants in Ukraine (later reorganized into thermal power plants) according to a new project: one in Zaporozhye, the second in the north-east of the Donetsk region.
According to the idea, the new power plants were supposed to become more flexible in terms of production: operate on several types of fuel (gas, fuel oil, gas coal), increase and decrease productivity depending on peak loads during the day and downturns in power consumption at night.
Station base
Construction work at the Uglegorsk State District Power Plant began in 1968. Initially, infrastructure facilities, roads, communications, industrial buildings and residential areas of the city of Svetlodarsk were built. High-voltage main lines for voltage transmission of 330 and 110 kV have been connected. A dam was built on the Lugan River to take water from it for cooling and technical use. The miracles of design thought were shown by Soviet builders: a record-breaking 320-meter chimney was erected at the station.
The first-born power unit was put into operation in the winter of 1972. On December 3, a 300 MW coal-fired turbine unit produced the first kilowatts of energy. After running in, the GRES was connected to the country's unified energy system. During the year, power engineers progressively put into operation three more units that worked on gas coal. By the end of 1973, the Uglegorsk State District Power Plant was steadily producing 1,200 MW of much-needed energy.
Development
1974 was a new stage in development for the Uglegorsk TPP. The construction of the second, more high-performance stage has begun, the equipment of which makes it possible to use fuel oil or natural gas as a fuel source. The first 800-megawatt unit gave energy in December 1975. A year later, also in December, 2 more units were launched. Thus, the total capacity of all seven power units of the station amounted to 3600 MW.
In 1984, a large-scale reorganization of the management system was carried out at the TPP. All important technological processes have been automated in order to eliminate as much as possible errors caused by the so-called "human factor".
After Ukraine gained independence, the Uglegorsk power plant will come under the jurisdiction of the new national government. In 1995, the company became part of the structure of PJSC "Centrenergo", where it is located to this day. By the way, important stages in the development of the enterprise are described in the book "History of the Uglegorsk TPP".
Conservation of the second stage
Tense relations that developed between the Ukrainian Republic and the Russian Federation in the oil and gas issue led to increased energy prices. Ukraine has small reserves of gas and oil fields, raw materials have to be purchased from neighboring countries. As a result, the cost of electricity and heat generated by the second stage of the Uglegorsk TPP exceeded the allowable limits. The three most productive 800-megawatt gas-fired units had to be mothballed. Thus,the actual capacity of the station today does not exceed 1200 MW.
2013 state of emergency
March 29, 2013 at 15:14 a large fire broke out, which occurred due to the ignition of coal dust. As a result, four turbines of the Uglegorsk thermal power plant were destroyed. The accident led to the fact that 12,000 residents of the city of Svetlodarsk remained cut off from communications. One station worker died and thousands were left without work. Miners also felt the consequences of the disaster, and the beginning of reconstruction financing and social support for the population of the affected city led to an increase in the electricity tariff. However, the shutdown of the Uglegorsk thermal power plant did not lead to disruption of the Ukrainian energy system.
Two weeks later, Minister Eduard Stavitsky, who was in charge of the energy and coal industry, commented on the situation at the Uglegorsk TPP. He made a statement that it was decided not to restore the burnt 4 units, but to overhaul them.
According to the investigation, a change in the technical conditions of operation led to the emergency, as a result of which coal dust caught fire. The fire spread to the roof and then spread through the shops of the first stage. By the way, unlike anthracite, gas coals are very flammable. When burning them, strict adherence to technical standards is required. The enterprise must introduce multi-level fire extinguishing equipment.
The main reason for the state of emergency, experts call the fact that the vast majority of generating capacities thatwere launched back in the days of the USSR, today they have already exhausted their resource. At least 60% of the capacities in the thermal power industry need urgent replacement, and 90% do not meet the concepts of reliable and efficient operation due to the exhaustion of the marginal resource.
Emergency recovery work
Despite the significant damage, the Uglegorsk power plant was not shut down. Over the next few years, large-scale construction and installation work was carried out. Initially, the coverage of Turbine Hall No. 1 was restored. On October 8, 2013, the station power unit No. 1 was connected to the integrated power system, on November 13, 2013, power unit No. 4 was connected. Further, a major overhaul of the 3rd power unit was carried out with the restoration of automated control systems. In 2014, it was decided to modernize unit No. 2 in order to restore the main equipment and increase the electric power by 25 MW, improve environmental performance in terms of dust emissions to 50 mg/nm3.
For more than forty years of continuous operation of the Uglegorsk TPP, the modernization of power generating equipment has not been carried out. The order of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry provides for further sequential reconstruction of power units No. 1, No. 3, No. 4 with an increase in the electric capacity of the first stage from 1200 MW to 1300 MW. The construction of a station-wide desulfurization plant has also begun to improve the ecological state of the region.
Prospects
Increasing the competitiveness of the Uglegorsk TPP in the future is expected due to:
- decreasecost of electricity;
- modernization and reconstruction of equipment;
- increasing the range of maneuverability of blocks, which is especially important during times of peak loads.
Thus, the Uglegorsk thermal power plant has great potential, but due to the unstable economic and political situation in Ukraine, the station cannot operate at full capacity.
