Dneproges

(full name, V. I. Lenin Dneproges), a hydroelectric power plant on the Dnieper River, near the city of Zaporozh’e, below the Dnieper Rapids. Dneproges was built according to the plan of GOELRO (State Commission for the Electrification of Russia) and has an installed capacity of 650 megawatts (MW), with an average annual power output of 3.64 billion kilowatt-hours.

Construction of Dneproges was begun in 1927, the first unit was put into operation in May 1932, and the inauguration was held on Oct. 10, 1932. Dneproges reached its design capacity of 560 MW in 1939. The hydrosystem consists of a hydroelectric power plant building, 236 m long and 70 m wide, located on the right bank, with a machine room containing nine 72-MW vertical hydrogenerating units; a 216-m-long sluice wall; a curved overflow weir 760 m long at the crest with a maximum construction depth of 60 m; and a nonover-flow dam 251 m long at the crest. The navigation structures on the left bank consist of an outer harbor in the headwater, a triple-lift lock, and a downstream approach canal. The hydroelectric power plant is automated and equipped with remote controls, telemetering, and telesignalization of the basic equipment. The pressure front, which has a total length of 1,200 m, forms the Dnieper Reservoir.

Dneproges was constructed with great labor enthusiasm. The plant served as a school for Soviet hydraulic power engineers. The creation of the Zaporozh’e industrial complex was based on the inexpensive electric energy provided by Dneproges. The Dnieper rapids were submerged to provide continuous navigation along the Dnieper River.

Dneproges was destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. Reconstruction was begun in 1944, and Dneproges was put into operation in 1950, with a capacity 16 percent greater than that of the prewar station. Dneproges is part of the Integrated Power Grid of the European part of the USSR and supplies electric power to the Dnieper region, the Donbas, and Krivoi Rog. Expansion of the hydrosystem was begun in 1969 with the construction of the 828-MW capacity Dneproges II hydroelectric power plant, which, together with a navigation lock, is scheduled for completion in 1975. Dneproges was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1939.