Electricity concept. Electricity production in Russia What industry does the electric power industry belong to?

The electric power industry deals with the production and transmission of electricity and is one of the basic branches of heavy industry.

In terms of electricity production, Russia is in second place in the world after the United States, but the gap in this indicator between our countries is very significant (in 1992.

In Russia, 976 billion kWh of electricity was produced, and in the USA - more than 3000, i.e. more than three times.

In the past fifty years, the electric power industry has been one of the most dynamically developing industries in our country, it outstripped both industry in general and heavy industry in terms of development rates. However, recent years have been characterized by a decrease in the rate of increase in electricity production, and in 1991, for the first time, there was a decrease in absolute production indicators (Table 3.1).

Table 3.1. Electricity production in Russia, billion kWh. *

* From the book: Russian statistical yearbook. - M., 1997 .-- S. 344.

At present, the power industry in Russia is in a deep crisis. The annual commissioning of capacities has decreased to the level of the 1950s, more than half of the electric power equipment is outdated, in need of reconstruction, and some - in immediate replacement. A sharp reduction in capacity reserves leads to a difficult situation with the supply of electricity in a number of regions (especially in the North Caucasus, the Far East).

The main part of the electricity produced in Russia 1 is used by industry - 60% (in the USA, respectively 39.5 4.2), 9.7% - transport (in the USA - 0.2%), 13.5% - by other industries - services and households, advertising, etc. (in the USA this is the main sphere of electricity consumption - 44.5 %). Part of the generated electricity is exported. Electricity losses in Russia account for about 8% of its production (in the USA - 11.6%).

A distinctive feature of the Russian economy (as well as the former USSR) is a higher energy intensity of the national income produced by countries (almost one and a half times higher than in the United States), so it is necessary to widely introduce energy-saving technologies and equipment. Nevertheless, even in the conditions of a decrease in the energy intensity of GNP, the specificity of the development of energy production is the constantly increasing need for it in the industrial and social spheres. The power industry plays an important role in the transition to a market economy; the way out of the economic crisis and the solution of social problems largely depend on its development. To solve social problems in 1991-2000. will go over 50% of the increase in electricity consumption, and in 2000-2010.

Almost 60%.

A specific feature of the electric power industry is that its products cannot be accumulated for subsequent use, therefore, consumption corresponds to the production of electricity both in size (of course, taking into account losses) and in time. There are stable interregional connections for the import and export of electricity: the electric power industry is a branch of specialization of the Volga and East Siberian large economic regions. Large power plants play a significant district-forming role. On their basis, energy-intensive and heat-intensive industries arise (smelting of aluminum, titanium, ferroalloys, production of chemical fibers, etc.). For example, the Sayan TPK (based on the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP) - electrometallurgy: the Sayan aluminum plant, a non-ferrous metal processing plant is being built, a molybdenum plant is being built, and in the future it is planned to build an electrometallurgical plant.

At present, our life is unthinkable without electrical energy. Electricity has invaded all spheres of human activity: industry and agriculture, science and space. It is also impossible to imagine our life without electricity. Such widespread use is explained by its specific properties:

· The ability to transform into almost all other types of energy (thermal, mechanical, sound, light, etc.);

· The ability to relatively easily be transmitted over long distances in large quantities;

· Huge speeds of electromagnetic processes;

· The ability to split energy and the formation of its parameters (change in voltage, frequency).

In industry, electrical energy is used to drive various mechanisms and directly in technological processes. The work of modern communication facilities (telegraph, telephone, radio, television) is based on the use of electricity. Without it, the development of cybernetics, computer technology, and space technology would have been impossible.

In agriculture, electricity is used for heating greenhouses and livestock buildings, lighting, and automating manual labor on farms.

Electricity plays a huge role in the transport industry. Electric transport does not pollute the environment. A large amount of electricity is consumed by electrified railway transport, which allows increasing the throughput of roads by increasing the speed of trains, reducing the cost of transportation, and increasing fuel economy.

Electricity in everyday life is the main part of ensuring a comfortable life for people. Many household appliances (refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, irons, etc.) were created thanks to the development of the electrical industry.

Electric power engineering is the most important part of human life. The level of its development reflects the level of development of the productive forces of society and the possibilities of scientific and technological progress.

The formation of the Russian electric power industry is connected with the GOELRO plan (1920). The GOELRO plan, calculated for 10-15 years, provided for the construction of 10 hydroelectric power plants and 20 steam power plants with a total capacity of 1.5 million kW. In fact, the plan was implemented in 10 years - by 1931, and by the end of 1935, instead of 30 power plants, 40 regional power plants were built, including the Svirskaya and Volkhovskaya hydroelectric power plants, Shaturskaya GRES on peat and Kashirskaya GRES on coal near Moscow.

The plan was based on:

· Widespread use of local fuel resources at power plants;

· Creation of high-voltage electrical networks connecting powerful stations;

· Economic use of fuel, achieved by the parallel operation of TPP and HPP;

· Construction of hydroelectric power plants, primarily in areas poor in organic fuel.

The GOELRO plan created the basis for the industrialization of Russia. In the 1920s, our country occupied one of the last places in energy production, and already at the end of the 1940s it took first place in Europe and second in the world.

Development and placement of the main types of power plants in Russia. In subsequent years, the electric power industry developed at a rapid pace, power transmission lines (PTL) were built. Nuclear energy began to develop simultaneously with hydraulic and thermal power plants.

Thermal power plants (TPP). The main type of power plants in Russia is thermal, operating on fossil fuels (coal, fuel oil, gas, shale, peat). Among them, the main role is played by powerful (more than 2 million kW) GRES - state regional power plants that meet the needs of the economic region and operate in power systems.

The location of thermal power plants is mainly influenced by fuel and consumer factors. The most powerful thermal power plants are located, as a rule, in places where fuel is produced. Thermal power plants using local fuels (peat, shale, low-calorie and high-ash coals) are consumer-oriented and, at the same time, are at the source of fuel resources. Power plants that use high-calorific fuel, which are economically efficient to transport, are consumer-oriented. As for thermal power plants operating on fuel oil, they are located mainly in the centers of the oil refining industry. Table 3.2 shows the characteristics of the largest GRES.

Table 3.2. GRES with a capacity of more than 2 million kW

Large thermal power plants are GRES fueled by coal from the Kansk-Achinsk basin, Berezovskaya GRES-1 and GRES-2. Surgutskaya GRES-2, Urengoyskaya GRES (runs on gas).

A powerful territorial-production complex is being created on the basis of the Kansk-Achinsk basin. The TPK project envisaged the creation of 10 unique super-powerful state district power stations of 6.4 million kW each on an area of ​​about 10 thousand km2 around Krasnoyarsk. At present, the number of planned GRES has been reduced to 8 (for environmental reasons - emissions into the atmosphere, accumulations of ash in huge quantities).

At the moment, the construction of only the 1st stage of the TPK has begun. In 1989, the first unit of Berezovskaya GRES-1 with a capacity of 800 thousand kW was put into operation, and the issue of building GRES-2 and GRES-3 of the same capacity (at a distance of only 9 km from each other) has already been resolved.

The advantages of thermal power plants in comparison with other types of power plants are as follows: relatively free location associated with the widespread distribution of fuel resources in Russia; the ability to generate electricity without seasonal fluctuations (in contrast to the state district power station).

The disadvantages include: the use of non-renewable fuel resources; low efficiency, extremely adverse impact on the environment.

Thermal power plants around the world emit 200-250 million tons of ash and about 60 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere annually; they absorb huge amounts of oxygen in the air. To date, it has been established that the radioactive environment around coal-fired thermal power plants, on average (in the world), is 100 times higher than near nuclear power plants of the same power (since ordinary coal almost always contains uranium-238 as trace impurities, thorium -232 and a radioactive isotope of carbon). TPPs of our country, unlike foreign ones, are still not equipped with any effective systems for cleaning exhaust gases from sulfur and nitrogen oxides. True, thermal power plants running on natural gas are significantly cleaner than coal, oil and shale ones, but the laying of gas pipelines inflicts enormous environmental harm on nature, especially in the northern regions.

Despite the noted shortcomings, in the short term (until 2000), the share of TPPs in the increase in electricity production should be 78-88% (since the increase in production at NPPs due to increased requirements and their safety, at best, will be very insignificant, the construction of HPPs will be be limited to the construction of dams mainly in conditions with minimal flooded areas).

The fuel balance of thermal power plants in Russia is characterized by the predominance of gas and fuel oil. In the near future, it is planned to increase the share of gas in the fuel balance of power plants in the western regions, in regions with a difficult environmental situation, especially in large cities. Thermal power plants in the eastern regions will be based mainly on coal, primarily on cheap open-pit coal in the Kansk-Achinsk basin.

Hydraulic power plants (HPP). Hydroelectric power plants are in second place in terms of the amount of electricity generated (in 1991 - 16.5%). Hydroelectric power plants are a very effective source of energy, since they use renewable resources, have ease of management (the number of personnel at HPPs is 15-20 times less than at GRES) and have a high efficiency (more than 80%). As a result, the energy produced at the hydroelectric power station is the cheapest. A huge advantage of a hydroelectric power station is its high maneuverability, that is, the possibility of almost instantaneous automatic start-up and shutdown of any required number of units. This makes it possible to use powerful hydroelectric power plants either as the most maneuverable "peak" power plants that ensure the stable operation of large power systems, or during the period of daily peak load of the electrical system, when the available capacity of the thermal power plant is not enough. Naturally, only powerful hydroelectric power plants can do this.

But the construction of a hydroelectric power station requires a long time and large specific investment, leads to the loss of flat lands, damages the fish industry. The share of participation of hydroelectric power plants in the generation of electricity is significantly less than their share in the installed capacity, which is explained by the fact that their full capacity is realized only in a short period of time, and only in high-water years. Therefore, despite the provision of Russia with hydropower resources, hydropower cannot serve as the basis for electricity generation in the country.

The most powerful hydroelectric power plants were built in Siberia, where hydro resources are most efficiently developed: specific capital investments are 2-3 times lower and the cost of electricity is 4-5 times lower than in the European part of the country (Table 3.3).

Table 3.3. HPP with a capacity of more than 2 million kW

Hydroelectric construction in our country was characterized by the construction of cascades of hydroelectric power plants on rivers. A cascade is a group of hydroelectric power plants located in steps along the course of a water stream in order to consistently use its energy. At the same time, in addition to generating electricity, the problems of supplying the population and producing water, eliminating floods, and improving transport conditions are being solved. Unfortunately, the creation of cascades in the country led to extremely negative consequences: the loss of valuable agricultural land, especially floodplain lands, and a violation of the ecological balance.

HPPs can be divided into two main groups; Hydroelectric power stations on large flat rivers and hydroelectric power stations on mountain rivers. In our country, most of the hydroelectric power station was built on flat rivers. Plain reservoirs are usually large in area and change natural conditions over large areas. The sanitary condition of water bodies is deteriorating. Sewage, which was previously carried out by rivers, accumulates in reservoirs; special measures have to be taken to flush river beds and reservoirs. The construction of hydroelectric power plants on flat rivers is less profitable than on mountain ones. But sometimes it is necessary to create normal shipping and irrigation.

The largest HPPs in the country are part of the Angara-Yenisei cascade: Sayano-Shushenskaya, Krasnoyarskaya on the Yenisei, Irkutsk, Bratsk, Ust-Ilimskaya on the Angara, the Boguchanskaya HPP (4 million kW) is under construction.

In the European part of the country, a large cascade of hydroelectric power plants has been created on the Volga: Ivankovskaya, Uglichskaya, Rybinskaya, Gorkovskaya, Cheboksarskaya, Volzhskaya named after IN AND. Lenin, Saratov, Volzhskaya.

The construction of pumped storage power plants - pumped storage power plants - is very promising. Their action is based on the cyclical movement of the same volume of water between two basins: upper and lower. At night, when there is a need for electricity, little water is pumped from the lower reservoir to the upper basin, while consuming excess energy produced at night by power plants. During the day, when the consumption of electricity sharply increases, water is discharged from the upper basin down through the turbines, while generating energy. This is beneficial, since it is impossible to stop the hydroelectric power station at night. Thus, the pumped storage power plant allows solving the problems of peak loads, maneuverability of using the capacity of power grids. In Russia, especially in the European part, there is an acute problem of creating flexible power plants, including pumped storage power plants (as well as CCGT, GTU). The Zagorskaya PSPP (1.2 million kW) has been built, the Central PSPP (2.6 million kW) is under construction.

Nuclear power plants. The share of nuclear power plants in the total electricity generation is about 12% (in the USA - 19.6%, in the UK - 18.9%, in Germany - 34%, in Belgium - 65%, in France - over 76%). It was planned that the share of nuclear power plants in the production of electricity in the USSR in 1990 will reach 20%, in fact, only 12.3% was achieved. The Chernobyl disaster caused a reduction in the nuclear construction program; since 1986, only 4 power units have been put into operation.

At present, the situation is changing, the government adopted a special resolution that actually approved the program for the construction of new nuclear power plants until 2010. Its initial stage is the modernization of existing power units and the commissioning of new ones, which should replace the units of the Bilibinskaya, Novovoronezh and Kola NPPs that are retired after 2000 ...

Now in Russia there are 9 nuclear power plants with a total capacity of 20.2 million kW (Table 3.4). Another 14 nuclear power plants and ACT (nuclear heat supply station) with a total capacity of 17.2 million kW are at the design stage, construction, or temporarily mothballed.

Table 3.4. Power of operating nuclear power plants

At present, the practice of international examination of projects and operating NPPs has been introduced. As a result of the expert examination, 2 units of the Voronezh NPP were decommissioned, the Beloyarsk NPP is planned to be decommissioned, the first power unit of the Novovoronezh NPP is shut down, the almost finished Rostov NPP is mothballed, and a number of projects are being revised once again. It was found that in a number of cases the locations of NPPs were chosen unsuccessfully, and the quality of their construction and equipment did not always meet regulatory requirements.

The principles of NPP siting were revised. First of all, the following is taken into account: the district's need for electricity, natural conditions (in particular, a sufficient amount of water), population density, the possibility of ensuring the protection of people from unacceptable radiation exposure in certain emergency situations. In this case, the likelihood of earthquakes, floods, and the presence of nearby groundwater is taken into account. NPPs should be located no closer than 25 km from cities with more than 100 thousand inhabitants, for ACT - no closer than 5 km. The total capacity of the power plant is limited: NPP - 8 million kW, ACT - 2 million kW.

New in nuclear power engineering is the creation of a CHPP and ACT. At a CHPP, as at a conventional CHPP, both electric and thermal energy are produced, and at ACT (nuclear heat supply plants) - only heat. Voronezh and Nizhny Novgorod ACT are under construction. The NPP operates in the Bilibino village in Chukotka. The Leningrad and Beloyarsk NPPs also provide low-grade heat for heating needs. In Nizhny Novgorod, the decision to create an ACT caused strong protests from the population, so an expert examination was carried out by IAEA specialists, who gave an opinion on the high quality of the project.

The advantages of a nuclear power plant are as follows: it can be built in any region, regardless of its energy resources; nuclear fuel is distinguished by an unusually high energy content (1 kg of the main nuclear fuel - uranium - contains the same energy as 25,000 tons of coal: nuclear power plants do not emit emissions into the atmosphere in trouble-free operation (unlike thermal power plants), do not absorb oxygen from air.

NPP operation is accompanied by a number of negative consequences.

1. The existing difficulties in the use of atomic energy - the disposal of radioactive waste. For removal from the stations, containers are constructed with powerful protection and a cooling system. Burial is carried out in the ground at great depths in geologically stable formations.

2. The catastrophic consequences of accidents at our nuclear power plants - due to an imperfect protection system.

3. Thermal pollution of water bodies used by the NPP. The functioning of nuclear power plants as objects of increased danger requires the participation of state authorities and management in the formation of directions of development, the allocation of the necessary funds.

In the future, more and more attention will be paid to the use of alternative energy sources - the sun, wind, internal heat of the earth, sea tides. Experimental power plants have already been built on these unconventional energy sources: on tidal waves on the Kola Peninsula Kislogubskaya and Mezenskaya, on the thermal waters of Kamchatka - power plants near the Pauzhetka River, etc. Wind power plants in residential settlements of the Far North with a capacity of up to 4 kW are used to protect - and oil pipelines in offshore fields. Work is underway to involve such an energy source as biomass in the economic turnover.

For a more economical, rational and comprehensive use of the total potential of the power plant of our country, the Unified Energy System (UES) has been created, in which more than 700 large power plants operate with a total capacity of over 250 million kW (that is, 84% of the capacity of all power plants in the country). The UES is managed from a single center equipped with electronic computers.

The economic benefits of the Unified Energy System are obvious. Powerful transmission lines significantly increase the reliability of electricity supply to the national economy, grow daily and annual electricity consumption schedules, improve the economic performance of power plants, and create conditions for the complete electrification of regions that are still experiencing a shortage of electricity. The UES on the territory of the former USSR includes numerous power plants that operate in parallel in a single mode, concentrating 4/5 of the total capacity of the country's power plants. The UES extends its influence over an area of ​​over 10 million km2 with a population of about 220 million people. In total, there are about 100 regional power systems in the country. They form 11 interconnected energy systems. The largest of them are South, Central, Siberian, Ural.

IES of the North-West, Center, Volga region, South, North Caucasus and Ural are included in the UPS of the European part. They are connected by such high-voltage lines as Samara - Moscow (500 kW), Samara - Chelyabinsk, Volgograd - Moscow (500 kW), Volgograd - Donbass (800 kW), Moscow - St. Petersburg (750 kW), etc.

Today, in the context of the transition to the market, familiarization with the experience of coordinating the activities and competition of various owners in the electric power sector of Western countries can be useful for choosing the most rational principles for joint work of owners of electric power facilities operating as part of the Unified Energy System.

A coordinating body has been created - the Electric Power Council of the CIS countries. The principles of joint work of the unified energy systems of the CIS have been developed and agreed upon.

The development of the electric power industry in modern conditions should take into account the following principles:

· Conduct the construction of environmentally friendly power plants and convert TPPs to cleaner fuel - natural gas;

· To create CHPs for district heating of industries, agriculture and communal services, which ensures fuel economy and doubles the efficiency of power plants;

· Build power plants of small capacity, taking into account the needs for electricity in large regions;

· To combine various types of power plants into a single power system;

· To construct pumped storage stations on small rivers, especially in regions of Russia that are extremely energy-deficient;

· To use unconventional types of fuel, wind, sun, sea tides, geothermal waters, etc. in obtaining electrical energy.

The need to develop a new energy policy in Russia is determined by a number of objective factors:

· The collapse of the USSR and the formation of the Russian Federation as a truly sovereign state;

· Fundamental changes in the socio-political structure, economic and geopolitical position of the country, the course adopted for its integration into the world economic system;

· A fundamental expansion of the rights of the subjects of the Federation - republics, territories, regions, etc .;

· A radical change in the relationship between government bodies and economically independent enterprises, the rapid growth of independent commercial structures;

· A deep crisis of the country's economy and energy, in overcoming which energy can play an important role;

· Reorientation of the fuel and energy complex towards the priority solution of social problems of society, increased requirements for environmental protection.

Unlike the previous energy programs, which were created within the framework of the planning and administrative management system and directly determined the volumes of energy production and the resources allocated for this, the new energy policy has a completely different content.

The main instruments of the new energy policy should be:

· Bringing prices for energy resources in line with the convertibility of the ruble in line with world prices with gradual smoothing of price surges in the domestic market;

· Corporatization of enterprises of the fuel and energy complex with the attraction of funds from the population, foreign investors and domestic commercial structures;

· Support for independent producers of energy carriers, primarily focused on the use of local and renewable energy resources.

Legislative acts have been adopted for the energy complex, the main objectives of which are:

1. Maintaining the integrity of the electric power complex and the UES of Russia.

2. Organization of a competitive electricity market as a tool to stabilize energy prices and improve the efficiency of the electric power industry.

3. Expansion of opportunities for attracting investments for the development of the Unified Energy System of Russia and regional energy companies.

4. Enhancing the role of the subjects of the Federation (regions, territories, autonomies) in managing the development of the UES of the Russian Federation.

In the future, Russia should abandon the construction of new and large thermal and hydraulic stations, which require huge investments and create environmental stress. It is planned to build small and medium-sized thermal power plants and small nuclear power plants in the remote northern and eastern regions. In the Far East, it is planned to develop hydropower through the construction of a cascade of medium and small hydropower plants.

New CHPPs will be built on gas, and only in the Kansk-Achinsk Basin it is planned to build powerful condensing power plants.

An important aspect of expanding the energy market is the possibility of increasing fuel and energy exports from Russia.

Russia's energy strategy is based on the following three main goals:

1. Curbing inflation through the presence of large reserves of energy resources, which should provide internal and external financing of the country.

2. Ensuring a decent role for energy as a factor in increasing labor productivity and improving the life of the population.

3. Reducing the technogenic load of the fuel and energy complex on the environment.

The highest priority of the energy strategy is to improve energy efficiency and save energy.

For the period of formation and development of market relations, a structural policy has been developed in the field of energy and the fuel industry for the next 10-15 years. It provides:

· Increasing the efficiency of natural gas use and its share in domestic consumption and exports;

· Increase in deep processing and complex use of hydrocarbon raw materials;

· Improving the quality of coal products, stabilizing and increasing the volume of coal production (mainly by open mining) as the development of environmentally acceptable technologies for its use;

· Overcoming the recession and moderate growth in oil production.

· Intensification of local energy resources of hydropower, peat, a significant increase in the use of renewable energy resources - solar, wind, geothermal energy, coal mine methane, biogas, etc .;

· Increasing the reliability of nuclear power plants. Development of extremely safe and economical new reactors, including those of low power.

Before the 2008 reform, most of the energy complex of the Russian Federation was under the control of RAO UES of Russia. This company was founded in 1992 and by the beginning of the 2000s had become practically a monopoly on the Russian generation and energy transportation market.

The reform of the industry was due to the fact that RAO "UES of Russia" was repeatedly criticized for the incorrect distribution of investments, as a result of which the accident rate at power facilities increased significantly. One of the reasons for the disbandment was an accident in the power system on May 25, 2005 in Moscow, as a result of which the activities of many enterprises, commercial and state organizations were paralyzed, and the work of the metro was stopped. Besides, RAO UES of Russia was often accused of selling electricity at deliberately inflated tariffs in order to increase its own profits.

As a result of the dissolution of RAO "UES of Russia", natural state monopolies were created in the network, distribution and dispatching activities. The private one was involved in the generation and sale of electricity.

Today, the structure of the energy complex is as follows:

• OJSC "System Operator of the Unified Energy System" (SO UES) - carries out centralized operational and dispatch control of the Unified Energy System of the Russian Federation.
• Non-profit partnership “Market Council for the Organization of an Efficient System of Wholesale and Retail Trade in Electricity and Power” - unites sellers and buyers of the wholesale electricity market.
• Electricity generating companies. Including state-owned - RusHydro, Rosenergoatom, jointly managed by the state and private capital, WGCs (wholesale generating companies) and TGKs (territorial generating companies), as well as fully private capital.
• JSC Russian Networks - management of the distribution grid complex.
• Power supply companies. Including JSC "Inter RAO UES" - a company owned by government agencies and organizations. Inter RAO UES is a monopoly in the import and export of electricity to the Russian Federation.

In addition to the division of organizations by type of activity, there is a division of the Unified Energy System of Russia into technological systems operating on a territorial basis. The United Energy Systems (UES) do not have one owner, but unite the energy companies of a particular region and have a single dispatch control, which is carried out by the branches of SO UES. Today in Russia there are 7 IES:

• OES of the Center (Belgorod, Bryansk, Vladimir, Vologda, Voronezh, Ivanovsk, Tverskaya, Kaluga, Kostroma, Kursk, Lipetsk, Moscow, Oryol, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tambov, Tula, Yaroslavl power systems);
• UES of the North-West (Arkhangelsk, Karelian, Kola, Komi, Leningrad, Novgorod, Pskov and Kaliningrad energy systems);
• UES of the South (Astrakhan, Volgograd, Dagestan, Ingush, Kalmyk, Karachay-Cherkess, Kabardino-Balkarian, Kuban, Rostov, North Ossetian, Stavropol, Chechen energy systems);
• UES of the Middle Volga (Nizhny Novgorod, Mari, Mordovia, Penza, Samara, Saratov, Tatar, Ulyanovsk, Chuvash power systems);
• UES of the Urals (Bashkir, Kirov, Kurgan, Orenburg, Perm, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, Udmurt, Chelyabinsk energy systems);
• UES of Siberia (Altai, Buryat, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Kuzbass, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Khakass, Transbaikal energy systems);
• UES of the East (Amurskaya, Primorskaya, Khabarovskaya and Yuzhno-Yakutskaya energy systems).

Key performance indicators

The key performance indicators of the power system are: installed capacity of power plants, electricity generation and electricity consumption.

The installed capacity of a power plant is the sum of the rated capacities of all generators of a power plant, which may change during the reconstruction of existing generators or the installation of new equipment. At the beginning of 2015, the installed capacity of the Unified Energy System (UES) of Russia was 232.45 thousand MW.

As of January 1, 2015, the installed capacity of Russian power plants increased by 5,981 MW compared to January 1, 2014. The growth was 2.6%, and this was achieved due to the introduction of new capacities with a capacity of 7,296 MW and an increase in the capacity of the existing equipment, by re-labeling at 411 MW. At the same time, generators with a capacity of 1,726 MW were decommissioned. In the industry as a whole, in comparison with 2010, the growth of production capacities amounted to 8.9%.

The distribution of capacities across the interconnected power systems is as follows:

• IES Center - 52.89 thousand MW;
• UES of the North-West - 23.28 thousand MW;
• IES of the South - 20.17 thousand MW;
• UES of the Middle Volga - 26.94 thousand MW;
• URES of the Urals - 49.16 thousand MW;
• UES of Siberia - 50.95 thousand MW;
• IES East - 9.06 thousand MW.

The largest increase in 2014 was in the installed capacity of the URES of the Urals - by 2,347 MW, as well as the IES of Siberia - by 1,547 MW and the IES of the Center by 1,465 MW.

At the end of 2014, the Russian Federation produced 1,025 billion kWh of electricity. According to this indicator, Russia ranks 4th in the world, 5 times behind China, and 4 times behind the United States of America.

Compared to 2013, electricity generation in the Russian Federation increased by 0.1%. And in relation to 2009, the growth was 6.6%, which in quantitative terms is 67 billion kWh.

Most of the electricity in 2014 in Russia was produced by thermal power plants - 677.3 billion kWh, hydroelectric power plants produced - 167.1 billion kWh, and nuclear power plants - 180.6 billion kWh. Electricity production by interconnected energy systems:

• IES Center –239.24 billion kWh;
• UES of the North-West –102.47 billion kWh;
• IES of the South - 84.77 billion kWh;
• UES of the Middle Volga - 105.04 billion kWh;
• URES of the Urals - 259.76 billion kWh;
• UES of Siberia - 198.34 billion kWh;
• IES East - 35.36 billion kWh.

Compared to 2013, the largest increase in electricity generation was recorded in the IES of the South - (+ 2.3%), and the smallest in the IES of the Middle Volga - (- 7.4%).

Electricity consumption in Russia in 2014 amounted to 1,014 billion kWh. Thus, the balance was (+ 11 billion kWh). And the largest consumer of electricity in the world at the end of 2014 is China - 4,600 billion kWh, the second place is occupied by the United States - 3,820 billion kWh.

Compared to 2013, electricity consumption in Russia increased by 4 billion kWh. But in general, the dynamics of consumption over the past 4 years has remained approximately at the same level. The difference between electricity consumption for 2010 and 2014 is 2.5%, in favor of the latter.

At the end of 2014, electricity consumption by the interconnected energy systems is as follows:

• IES Center –232.97 billion kWh;
• UES of the North-West - 90.77 billion kWh;
• IES of the South –86.94 billion kWh;
• UES of the Middle Volga - 106.68 billion kWh;
• URES of the Urals –260.77 billion kWh;
• UES of Siberia - 204.06 billion kWh;
• IES East - 31.8 billion kWh.

In 2014, 3 IESs had a positive difference between generated and generated electricity. The best indicator is for the IES of the North-West - 11.7 billion kWh, which is 11.4% of the generated electricity, and the worst for the IES of Siberia (- 2.9%). The balance of electricity in the IES RF looks like this:

• IES Center - 6.27 billion kWh;
• UES of the North-West - 11.7 billion kWh;
• IES of the South - (- 2.17) billion kWh;
• UES of the Middle Volga - (- 1.64) billion kWh;
• URES of the Urals - (- 1.01) billion kWh;
• UES of Siberia - (- 5.72) billion kWh;

• IES East - 3.56 billion kWh.

The cost of 1 kWh of electricity, at the end of 2014 in Russia, is 3 times lower than European prices. The average annual European indicator is 8.4 Russian rubles, while in the Russian Federation the average cost of 1 kWh is 2.7 rubles. Denmark is the leader in terms of the cost of electricity - 17.2 rubles per 1 kWh, the second is Germany - 16.9 rubles. Such expensive tariffs are primarily due to the fact that the governments of these countries have abandoned the use of nuclear power plants in favor of alternative energy sources.

If we compare the cost of 1 kWh and the average salary, then among European countries, residents of Norway can buy the most kilowatt / hour per month - 23,969, Luxembourg is second with 17,945 kWh, the third is the Netherlands - 15,154 kWh. The average Russian can buy 9,674 kWh per month.

All Russian power systems, as well as power systems of neighboring countries, are interconnected by power lines. To transmit energy over long distances, high-voltage power lines with a capacity of 220 kV and above are used. They form the backbone of the Russian power system and are operated by intersystem power grids. The total length of power transmission lines of this class is 153.4 thousand km, and in general, the Russian Federation operates 2 647.8 thousand km of power lines of various capacities.

Nuclear power

Nuclear power is an energy industry that generates electricity by converting nuclear energy. Nuclear power plants have two significant advantages over their competitors - environmental friendliness and economy. If all operating standards are observed, the NPP practically does not pollute the environment, and nuclear fuel is burned in disproportionately smaller quantities than other types and fuels, and this saves on logistics and delivery.

But despite these advantages, many countries do not want to develop nuclear energy. This is due primarily to the fear of an environmental disaster that may occur as a result of an accident at a nuclear power plant. After the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, nuclear power facilities around the world have attracted close attention of the world community. Therefore, nuclear power plants are operated, mainly in technically and economically developed countries.

According to data for 2014, nuclear power provides about 3% of the world's electricity consumption. Today, power plants with nuclear reactors operate in 31 countries around the world. In total, there are 192 nuclear power plants with 438 power units in the world. The total capacity of all nuclear power plants in the world is about 380 thousand MW. The largest number of nuclear power plants is located in the USA - 62, France - 19, the third - Japan - 17. There are 10 nuclear power plants in the Russian Federation and this is the 5th indicator in the world.

Nuclear power plants in the United States of America generate a total of 798.6 billion kWh, this is the best indicator in the world, but in the structure of electricity generated by all US power plants, nuclear power accounts for about 20%. The largest share in the generation of electricity from nuclear power plants in France, nuclear power plants in this country generate 77% of all electricity. The generation of French nuclear power plants is 481 billion kWh per year.

At the end of 2014, Russian nuclear power plants generated 180.26 billion kWh of electricity, which is 8.2 billion kWh more than in 2013, the percentage difference is 4.8%. Electricity production by nuclear power plants in Russia is more than 17.5% of the total amount of electricity produced in the Russian Federation.

With regard to the generation of electricity by nuclear power plants through the interconnected energy systems, the largest amount was generated by the NPP of the Center - 94.47 billion kWh - this is just over half of the country's total generation. And the share of nuclear power in this united energy system is the largest - about 40%.

• IES Center - 94.47 billion kWh (39.8% of all generated electricity);
• UES of the North-West - 35.73 billion kWh (35% of all energy);
• IES of the South –18.87 billion kWh (22.26% of all energy);
• UES of the Middle Volga –29.8 billion kWh (28.3% of all energy);
• URES of the Urals - 4.5 billion kWh (1.7% of all energy).

This uneven distribution of production is associated with the location of Russian nuclear power plants. Most of the capacities of nuclear power plants are concentrated in the European part of the country, while in Siberia and the Far East they are absent altogether.

The largest nuclear power plant in the world is Japan's Kashiwazaki-Kariva, with a capacity of 7,965 MW, and the largest European nuclear power plant is Zaporizhzhya, with a capacity of about 6,000 MW. It is located in the Ukrainian city of Energodar. In the Russian Federation, the largest nuclear power plants have a capacity of 4,000 MW, the rest from 48 to 3,000 MW. List of Russian nuclear power plants:

• Balakovo NPP - capacity 4,000 MW. Located in the Saratov region, it has been repeatedly recognized as the best nuclear power plant in Russia. It has 4 power units and was put into operation in 1985.
• Leningrad NPP - capacity 4,000 MW. The largest nuclear power plant in the North-West IES. It has 4 power units and was commissioned in 1973.
• Kursk NPP - capacity 4,000 MW. Consists of 4 power units, the beginning of operation - 1976.
• Kalinin NPP - capacity 4,000 MW. Located in the north of the Tver region, it has 4 power units. Opened in 1984.
• Smolensk NPP - capacity 3,000 MW. Recognized as the best nuclear power plant in Russia in 1991, 1992, 2006 2011. It has 3 power units, the first was put into operation in 1982.
• Rostov NPP - capacity 2,000 MW. The largest power plant in the south of Russia. 2 power units were commissioned at the station, the first in 2001, the second in 2010.
• Novovoronezh NPP - capacity 1,880 MW. Provides electricity to about 80% of consumers in the Voronezh region. The first power unit was launched in September 1964. Now there are 3 power units in operation.
• Kola NPP - capacity 1,760 MW. The first nuclear power plant in Russia built in the Arctic Circle provides about 60% of the electricity consumption of the Murmansk region. It has 4 power units and was opened in 1973.
• Beloyarsk NPP - capacity 600 MW. Located in the Sverdlovsk region. It was commissioned in April 1964. It is the oldest operating nuclear power plant in Russia. Now only 1 power unit is in operation out of the three envisaged by the project.
• Bilibino NPP - capacity 48 MW. It is part of the isolated Chaun-Bilibino energy system, generating about 75% of the electricity it consumes. It was opened in 1974 and consists of 4 power units.

In addition to the existing nuclear power plants, 8 more power units are under construction in Russia, as well as a floating nuclear power plant of low power.

Hydropower

Hydroelectric power plants provide a rather low cost of one generated kWh of energy. Compared to thermal power plants, the production of 1 kWh at hydroelectric power plants is 2 times cheaper. This is due to the rather simple principle of operation of hydroelectric power plants. Special hydraulic structures are being built that provide the necessary water pressure. Water, falling on the turbine blades, sets it in motion, which in turn drives generators that generate electricity.

But the widespread use of hydroelectric power plants is impossible, since a necessary condition for operation is the presence of a powerful moving water flow. Therefore, hydroelectric power plants are being built on deep large rivers. Another significant disadvantage of hydroelectric power plants is the blockage of river beds, which makes it difficult for fish to spawn and flood large volumes of land resources.

But despite the negative consequences for the environment, hydroelectric power plants continue to function and are being built on the largest rivers in the world. In total, there are hydroelectric power plants operating in the world with a total capacity of about 780 thousand MW. It is difficult to calculate the total number of hydroelectric power plants, since there are many small hydroelectric power plants operating in the world, operating for the needs of a separate city, enterprise, or even a private economy. On average, hydropower generates about 20% of the world's electricity.

Of all the countries in the world, Paraguay is the most dependent on hydropower. In the country, 100% of electricity is generated by hydroelectric power plants. In addition to this country, Norway, Brazil and Colombia are very dependent on hydropower.

The largest hydroelectric power plants are located in South America and China. The largest hydroelectric power station in the world is Sanxia on the Yangzi River, its capacity reaches 22,500 MW, the second place is taken by the hydroelectric power station on the Parana River - Itaipu, with a capacity of 14,000 MW. The largest hydroelectric power plant in Russia is Sayano-Shushenskaya, with a capacity of about 6,400 MW.

In addition to the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, there are 101 more hydroelectric power plants operating in Russia with a capacity of more than 100 MW. The largest hydroelectric power plants in Russia:

• Sayano-Shushenskaya - Capacity - 6 400 MW, average annual electricity production - 19.7 billion kWh. Commissioning date - 1985. The hydroelectric power station is located on the Yenisei.
• Krasnoyarskaya - Capacity 6,000 MW, average annual electricity production - about 20 billion kWh, commissioned in 1972, also located on the Yenisei.
• Bratskaya - Capacity 4,500 MW, located at the Angara. It generates on average about 22.6 billion kWh per year. Commissioned in 1961.
• Ust-Ilimskaya - Capacity 3,840 MW, located at the Angara. Average annual productivity is 21.7 billion kWh. It was built in 1985.
• Boguchanskaya HPP - Capacity about 3,000 MW, was built at the Angara in 2012. Produces about 17.6 billion kWh per year.
• Volzhskaya HPP - Capacity 2 640 MW. Built in 1961 in the Volgograd region, the average annual capacity is 10.43 kWh.
• Zhigulevskaya HPP - Capacity about 2,400 MW. It was built in 1955 on the Volga river in the Samara region. It produces about 11.7 kWh of electricity per year.

As for the interconnected energy systems, the largest share in the generation of electricity with the help of hydroelectric power plants belongs to the IES of Siberia and the East. In these IESs, hydropower plants account for 47.5 and 35.3% of all generated electricity, respectively. This is due to the presence of large deep rivers in the Yenisei and Amur basins in these regions.

At the end of 2014, Russian hydroelectric power plants produced more than 167 billion kWh of electricity. Compared to 2013, this indicator decreased by 4.4%. The largest contribution to the generation of electricity with the help of hydroelectric power plants was made by the IES of Siberia - about 57% of the all-Russian one.

Heat power engineering

Heat power engineering is the backbone of the energy complex of the overwhelming majority of countries in the world. Despite the fact that thermal power plants have a lot of disadvantages associated with environmental pollution and high cost of electricity, they are used everywhere. The reason for this popularity is the versatility of thermal power plants. Thermal power plants can operate on various types of fuel, and when designing, it is necessary to take into account which energy resources are optimal for a given region.

Thermal power plants generate about 90% of the world's electricity. At the same time, the share of thermal power plants using petroleum products as fuel accounts for the production of 39% of all world energy, coal-fired thermal power plants - 27%, and gas-fired thermal power plants - 24% of generated electricity. In some countries, there is a strong dependence of TPPs on one type of fuel. For example, the overwhelming majority of Polish thermal power plants operate on coal, and the situation is the same in South Africa. Most thermal power plants in the Netherlands use natural gas as fuel.

In the Russian Federation, the main types of fuel for TPPs are natural and associated petroleum gas and coal. Moreover, most TPPs in the European part of Russia operate on gas, while coal-fired TPPs prevail in southern Siberia and the Far East. The share of power plants using fuel oil as the main fuel is insignificant. In addition, many thermal power plants in Russia use several types of fuel. For example, the Novocherkasskaya GRES in the Rostov region uses all three main types of fuel. The share of fuel oil is 17%, gas - 9%, and coal - 74%.

In terms of the amount of electricity generated in the Russian Federation in 2014, thermal power plants firmly hold a leading position. In total, over the past year, TPPs produced 621.1 billion kWh, which is 0.2% less than in 2013. On the whole, the generation of electricity by thermal power plants in the Russian Federation has decreased to the level of 2010.

If we consider the generation of electricity in the context of the UPS, then in each power system the share of TPPs accounts for the largest electricity production. The largest share of TPPs in the UES of the Urals - 86.8%, and the smallest in the UES of the North-West - 45.4%. As for the quantitative production of electricity, in the context of the UPS it looks like this:

• URES of the Urals - 225.35 billion kWh;
• IES Center - 131.13 billion kWh;
• UES of Siberia - 94.79 billion kWh;
• UES of the Middle Volga - 51.39 billion kWh;
• IES of the South - 49.04 billion kWh;
• UES of the North-West - 46.55 billion kWh;
• IES of the Far East - 22.87 billion kWh.

Thermal power plants in Russia are divided into two types of CHP and GRES. A combined heat and power plant (CHP) is a power plant with the ability to extract thermal energy. Thus, the CHPP produces not only electricity, but also heat energy, which is used for hot water supply and space heating. GRES is a thermal power plant that produces only electricity. The abbreviation GRES remained from the Soviet times and meant the state regional power plant.

Today in the Russian Federation there are about 370 thermal power plants. Of these, 7 have a capacity of over 2,500 MW:

• Surgutskaya GRES - 2 - capacity 5,600 MW, types of fuel - natural and associated petroleum gas - 100%.
• Reftinskaya GRES - capacity 3,800 MW, fuel types - coal - 100%.
• Kostromskaya GRES - capacity of 3,600 MW, types of fuel - natural gas - 87%, coal - 13%.
• Surgutskaya GRES - 1 - capacity 3,270 MW, types of fuel - natural and associated petroleum gas - 100%.
• Ryazanskaya GRES - capacity 3070 MW, types of fuel - fuel oil - 4%, gas - 62%, coal - 34%.
• Kirishskaya GRES - capacity 2,600 MW, fuel types - fuel oil - 100%.
• Konakovskaya GRES - capacity of 2,520 MW, types of fuel - fuel oil - 19%, gas - 81%.

Industry development prospects

Over the past few years, the Russian energy complex has maintained a positive balance between generated and consumed electricity. As a rule, the total amount of consumed energy is 98-99% of the generated. Thus, we can say that the existing production capacities fully cover the country's electricity needs.

The main areas of activity of Russian power engineers are aimed at increasing the electrification of remote regions of the country, as well as at updating and reconstructing existing facilities.

It should be noted that the cost of electricity in Russia is significantly lower than in the countries of Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, therefore, due attention is not paid to the development and implementation of new alternative energy sources. The share of wind energy, geothermal energy and solar energy in the total electricity production in Russia does not exceed 0.15% of the total. But if geothermal energy is very territorially limited, and solar energy in Russia does not develop on an industrial scale, then neglect of wind energy is unacceptable.

Today in the world, the capacity of wind generators is 369 thousand MW, which is only 11 thousand MW less than the capacity of power units of all nuclear power plants in the world. The economic potential of Russian wind energy is about 250 billion kWh per year, which is about a quarter of all electricity consumed in the country. Today, the production of electricity using wind generators does not exceed 50 million kWh per year.

It should also be noted the widespread introduction of energy-saving technologies in all types of economic activities, which has been observed in recent years. In industries and households, various devices are used to reduce energy consumption, and in modern construction they actively use thermal insulation materials. But, unfortunately, even in spite of the Federal Law "On Energy Saving and Increasing Energy Efficiency in the Russian Federation" adopted in 2009, the Russian Federation lags far behind European countries and the United States in terms of energy savings and energy saving.

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The leading position of the thermal power industry is a historically established and economically justified pattern of the development of the Russian energy sector.

Thermal power plants (TPP) operating in Russia can be classified according to the following criteria:

§ by sources of energy used - fossil fuel, geothermal energy, solar energy;

§ by type of energy output - condensing, heating;

§ on the use of the installed electric capacity and the participation of TPPs in covering the electric load schedule - basic (at least 5000 hours of using the installed electric capacity per year), half-peak or maneuverable (respectively 3000 and 4000 hours per year), peak (less than 1500-2000 h per year).

In turn, fossil fuel-fired thermal power plants differ in terms of technology:

§ steam turbine (with steam power plants on all types of fossil fuels: coal, fuel oil, gas, peat, oil shale, firewood and wood waste, products of energy processing of fuel, etc.);

§ diesel;

§ gas turbine;

§ steam and gas.

The most developed and widespread in Russia are thermal power plants for general use, operating on fossil fuels (gas, coal), mainly steam turbines.

The largest thermal power plant in Russia is the largest on the Eurasian continent, Surgutskaya GRES-2 (5600 MW), which runs on natural gas (GRES is an abbreviation that has survived from Soviet times, meaning the state regional power plant). Of the coal-fired power plants, the largest installed capacity is at Reftinskaya GRES (3800 MW). The largest Russian TPPs also include Surgutskaya GRES-1 and Kostromskaya GRES, with a capacity of over 3 thousand MW each.

In the process of reforming the industry, the largest thermal power plants in Russia were merged into wholesale generating companies (WGCs) and territorial generating companies (TGKs).

At the moment, the main task of the development of thermal generation is to ensure the technical re-equipment and reconstruction of existing power plants, as well as the commissioning of new generating capacities using advanced technologies in the production of electricity.

Hydropower

Hydropower provides system services (frequency, power) and is a key element in ensuring the system reliability of the Unified Energy System of the country, having more than 90% of the regulating capacity reserve. Of all the existing types of power plants, it is hydroelectric power plants that are the most maneuverable and, if necessary, are able to quickly significantly increase production volumes, covering peak loads.

Russia has a large hydropower potential, which implies significant opportunities for the development of domestic hydropower. About 9% of the world's water resources are concentrated in Russia. In terms of the availability of hydropower resources, Russia ranks second in the world, ahead of the United States, Brazil, and Canada. At present, the total theoretical hydropower potential of Russia is determined at 2,900 billion kWh of annual electricity generation, or 170 thousand kWh per 1 sq. km of territory. However, only 20% of this potential has now been exploited. One of the obstacles to the development of hydropower is the remoteness of the main part of the potential, concentrated in central and eastern Siberia and the Far East, from the main consumers of electricity.

Figure 1 Electricity production by hydroelectric power plants in Russia (in billion kWh) and the capacity of hydroelectric power plants in Russia (in GW) in 1991-2010

Electricity generation by Russian HPPs provides annual savings of 50 million tons of standard fuel, the potential for savings is 250 million tons; allows to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere by up to 60 million tons per year, which provides Russia with an almost unlimited potential for increasing energy capacity in the face of stringent requirements for limiting greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to its direct purpose - the production of electricity using renewable resources - hydropower additionally solves a number of important problems for society and the state: the creation of drinking and industrial water supply systems, the development of navigation, the creation of irrigation systems in the interests of agriculture, fish farming, regulation of river flow, which allows to fight floods and floods, ensuring the safety of the population.

Currently, 102 hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of over 100 MW are operating in Russia. The total installed capacity of hydroelectric units at hydroelectric power plants in Russia is approximately 46 GW (5th in the world). In 2011, Russian hydroelectric power plants generated 153 billion kWh of electricity. In the total volume of electricity production in Russia, the share of hydroelectric power plants in 2011 was 15.2%.

During the reform of the electric power industry, the federal hydro-generating company OJSC HydroOGK (current name is OJSC RusHydro) was created, which united the bulk of the country's hydropower assets. Today the company manages 68 renewable energy facilities, including 9 stations of the Volga-Kama cascade with a total installed capacity of more than 10.2 GW, the first-born of large hydropower in the Far East - Zeyskaya HPP (1,330 MW), Bureyskaya HPP (2,010 MW), Novosibirskaya HPP (455 MW) and several dozen hydroelectric power plants in the North Caucasus, including the Kashkhatau HPP (65.1 MW), which was commissioned in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic at the end of 2010. Also, RusHydro includes geothermal power plants in Kamchatka and highly maneuverable capacities of the Zagorskaya pumped storage power plant (PSHPP) in the Moscow Region, which are used to equalize the daily irregularities in the electric load schedule in the IES Center.

Until recently, the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP named after V.I. PS Neporozhny with a capacity of 6721 MW (Khakassia). However, after the accident on August 17, 2009, its capacities were partially out of order. Currently, restoration work is in full swing, which is expected to be completed in full by 2014. On February 24, 2010, hydroelectric unit No. 6 with a capacity of 640 MW was connected to the grid under load, in December 2011, hydroelectric unit No. 1 was put into operation. Today, hydroelectric units No. 1, 3, 4, 5 with a total capacity of 2560 MW are in operation. The second largest hydroelectric power plant in Russia in terms of installed capacity is the Krasnoyarsk HPP.

The prospective development of hydropower in Russia is associated with the development of the potential of the rivers of the North Caucasus (the Zaramagsky, Kashkhatau, Gotsatlinskaya HPPs, Zelenchukskaya HPP-PSPP are under construction; the plans include the second stage of the Irganai HPP, the Agvalinskaya HPP, the development of the Kuban North Ossetia and Dagestan), Siberia (completion of the Boguchanskaya, Vilyuiskaya-III and Ust-Srednekanskaya HPPs, design of the South Yakutsk HPP and Evenk HPP), further development of the hydropower complex in the center and north of the European part of Russia, in the Volga region, main consuming regions (in particular - construction of Leningradskaya and Zagorskaya PSPP-2).

Nuclear power. Russia possesses a full cycle nuclear power technology from uranium ore mining to power generation. Today, Russia operates 10 nuclear power plants (NPPs) - a total of 33 power units with an installed capacity of 23.2 GW, which generate about 17% of all electricity produced. 5 more nuclear power plants are under construction.

Nuclear energy was widely developed in the European part of Russia (30%) and in the North-West (37% of the total electricity generation).

Figure 2 Electricity production of Russian NPPs (in billion kWh) and capacity of Russian NPPs (in GW) in 1991-2010

power industry spatial alternative industry

In 2011, nuclear power plants generated a record amount of electricity in the entire history of the industry - 173 billion kWh, which was about 1.5% of an increase compared to 2010. In December 2007, in accordance with the decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom was established, which manages all of Russia's nuclear assets, including both the civilian part of the nuclear industry and the nuclear weapons complex. It is also entrusted with the tasks of fulfilling Russia's international obligations in the field of the peaceful use of atomic energy and the regime for the non-proliferation of nuclear materials.

The operator of Russian nuclear power plants, Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC, is the second largest energy company in Europe in terms of the volume of nuclear generation. Russian NPPs make a significant contribution to the fight against global warming. Thanks to their work, the emission of 210 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is prevented annually. Safety is a priority in NPP operation. Since 2004, no serious safety violations have been recorded at Russian NPPs classified on the INES international scale above the zero (minimum) level. An important task in the field of operation of Russian nuclear power plants is to increase the installed capacity utilization factor (ICUF) of already operating plants. It is planned that as a result of the implementation of the program for increasing the capacity of the Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC, calculated until 2015, an effect equivalent to the commissioning of four new nuclear power units (equivalent to 4.5 GW of installed capacity) will be obtained.

Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy is one of the potential directions for the development of the electric power industry in Russia. Currently, 56 deposits of thermal waters with a potential exceeding 300 thousand m3 / day have been explored in Russia. Industrial exploitation is underway at 20 fields, among them: Paratunskoye (Kamchatka), Kazminskoye and Cherkesskoye (Karachay-Cherkessia and Stavropol Territory), Kizlyarskoye and Makhachkala (Dagestan), Mostovskoye and Voznesenskoye (Krasnodar Territory). At the same time, the total electric power potential of steam-water baths, which is estimated at 1 GW of operating electric power, is realized only in the amount of slightly more than 80 MW of installed capacity. All operating Russian geothermal power plants are currently located on the territory of Kamchatka and the Kuriles.

(FEC) is one of the inter-industry complexes, which is a set of closely interconnected and interdependent branches of the fuel industry and the electric power industry. It also includes specialized types of transport - pipeline and trunk high-voltage lines.

The fuel and energy complex is the most important structural component of the Russian economy, one of the factors in the development and distribution of the country's productive forces. The share of the fuel and energy complex in 2007 reached over 60% in the country's export balance. The fuel and energy complex has a significant impact on the formation of the country's budget and its regional structure. The sectors of the complex are closely connected with all sectors of the Russian economy, are of great regional-forming importance, create the preconditions for the development of fuel production and serve as the basis for the formation of industrial, including electric power, petrochemical, coal-chemical, gas-industrial complexes.

At the same time, the normal functioning of the fuel and energy complex restrains a shortage of investments, a high level of moral and physical deterioration of fixed assets (in the coal and oil industry, more than 50% of the equipment has been exhausted, in the gas industry - more than 35%, more than half of the main oil pipelines are operated without capital repairs 25-35 years), an increase in its negative impact on the environment (the share of the fuel and energy complex accounts for 1/2 of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere, 2/5 of wastewater, 1/3 of solid waste from all consumers).

The peculiarity of the development of the fuel and energy complex of Russia is the restructuring of its structure in the direction of increasing the share of natural gas (more than 2 times) over the past 20 years and reducing the share of oil (1.7 times) and coal (1.5 times). which is due to the continuing discrepancy in the distribution of productive forces and fuel and energy resources (FER), since up to 90% of the total reserves of fuel and energy resources are in the eastern regions.

Structure of production of primary energy resources in Russia * (in% of the total)

The needs of the national economy for fuel and energy depend on the dynamics of the economy and on the intensity of energy conservation. The high energy intensity of the Russian economy is due not only to the natural and geographical features of the country, but also to the high share of energy-intensive sectors of the heavy industry, the prevalence of old energy-wasting technologies, and direct energy losses in the networks. There is still no widespread practice of energy-saving technologies.

Fuel industry. Mineral fuels are the main source of energy in the modern economy. In terms of fuel resources, Russia ranks first in the world. Their regional structure is dominated by coal, but in Western Siberia, the Volga region, the North Caucasus and the Urals, oil and natural gas are of primary importance.

In 2007, in the country as a whole, oil production amounted to 491 million tons, gas - 651 billion cubic meters, coal - 314 million tons. XX century and up to the present day, a tendency is clearly traced - as the most efficient deposits of oil, natural gas and coal are developed in the western regions of the country, the main volumes of their production are shifted to the east. In 2007, the Asian part of Russia produced 93% of natural gas, more than 70% of oil and 92% of coal in Russia.

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Power engineering

Power engineering- a basic industry, the development of which is an indispensable condition for the development of the economy and other spheres of life. The world produces about 13,000 billion kWh, of which only the USA accounts for up to 25%. Over 60% of the world's electricity is produced at thermal power plants (in the USA, Russia and China - 70-80%), about 20% at hydroelectric power plants, 17% at nuclear power plants (in France and Belgium - 60%, Sweden and Switzerland - 40-45%).

The richest in electricity per capita are Norway (28 thousand kWh per year), Canada (19 thousand), Sweden (17 thousand).

The electric power industry, together with the fuel industries, including the exploration, production, processing and transportation of energy sources, as well as the electric energy itself, forms the most important for the economy of any country fuel and energy complex(Fuel and energy complex). About 40% of all primary energy resources in the world are spent on electricity generation. In a number of countries, the main part of the fuel and energy complex belongs to the state (France, Italy, etc.), but in many countries, mixed capital plays the main role in the fuel and energy complex.

The electric power industry is engaged in the production of electricity, its transportation and distribution.... The peculiarity of the electric power industry is that its products cannot be accumulated for subsequent use: the production of electricity at each moment of time must correspond to the size of consumption, taking into account the needs of the power plants themselves and losses in the networks. Therefore, communications in the electric power industry have constancy, continuity and are carried out instantly.

The power industry has a great impact on the territorial organization of the economy: it allows the development of fuel and energy resources in remote eastern and northern regions; the development of main high-voltage lines contributes to a freer location of industrial enterprises; large hydroelectric power plants attract energy-intensive industries; in the eastern regions, the electric power industry is a branch of specialization and serves as the basis for the formation of territorial-production complexes.

It is believed that for the normal development of the economy, the growth in electricity production must outpace the growth in production in all other sectors. Most of the generated electricity is consumed by industry. In terms of electricity production (1,015.3 billion kWh in 2007), Russia ranks fourth after the United States, Japan and China.

In terms of the scale of electricity production, the Central Economic Region (17.8% of the total Russian production), Eastern Siberia (14.7%), the Urals (15.3%) and Western Siberia (14.3%) stand out. Moscow and the Moscow Region, the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, the Irkutsk Region, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and the Sverdlovsk Region are the leaders among the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in terms of electricity generation. Moreover, the electric power industry of the Center and the Urals is based on imported fuel, while the Siberian regions operate on local energy resources and transmit electricity to other regions.

The electric power industry in modern Russia is mainly represented by thermal power plants (Fig. 2) operating on natural gas, coal and fuel oil; in recent years, the share of natural gas in the fuel balance of power plants has been increasing. About 1/5 of domestic electricity is generated by hydroelectric power plants and 15% - by nuclear power plants.

Thermal power plants working on low-quality coal, as a rule, gravitate towards the places where it is mined. For power plants using fuel oil, it is optimal to locate them next to oil refineries. Gas-fired power plants, due to the relatively low cost of its transportation, mainly gravitate towards the consumer. Moreover, first of all, power plants of large and largest cities are converted to gas, since it is an environmentally cleaner fuel than coal and fuel oil. CHPPs (producing both heat and electricity) gravitate towards the consumer regardless of the fuel on which they operate (the coolant quickly cools down during transmission over a distance).

The largest thermal power plants with a capacity of more than 3.5 million kW each are Surgutskaya (in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug), Reftinskaya (in the Sverdlovskaya Oblast) and Kostromskaya GRES. Kirishskaya (near St. Petersburg), Ryazanskaya (Central region), Novocherkasskaya and Stavropolskaya (North Caucasus), Zainskaya (Volga region), Reftinskaya and Troitskaya (Ural), Nizhnevartovskaya and Berezovskaya in Siberia have a capacity of more than 2 million kW.

Geothermal power plants that use the deep heat of the Earth are tied to an energy source. The Pauzhetskaya and Mutnovskaya GTPPs operate in Kamchatka in Russia.

Hydroelectric power plants- very efficient sources of electricity. They use renewable resources, are easy to manage and have a very high efficiency (over 80%). Therefore, the cost of the electricity they produce is 5-6 times lower than that of thermal power plants.

It is most economical to build hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) on mountain rivers with a large difference in altitude, while on flat rivers, to maintain a constant water pressure and reduce the dependence on seasonal fluctuations in water volumes, the creation of large reservoirs is required. For a more complete use of the hydropower potential, cascades of hydroelectric power stations are being built. In Russia, hydropower cascades have been created on the Volga and Kama, Angara and Yenisei. The total capacity of the Volga-Kama cascade is 11.5 million kW. And it includes 11 power plants. The most powerful are Volzhskaya (2.5 million kW) and Volgograd (2.3 million kW). There are also Saratov, Cheboksary, Votkinskaya, Ivankovskaya, Uglichskaya and others.

Even more powerful (22 million kW) is the Angara-Yenisei cascade, which includes the country's largest hydroelectric power plants: Sayan (6.4 million kW), Krasnoyarsk (6 million kW), Bratsk (4.6 million kW), Ust-Ilimskaya (4.3 million kW).

Tidal power plants use the energy of the high tides in a secluded bay. An experimental Kislogubskaya TPP operates in Russia off the northern coast of the Kola Peninsula.

Nuclear power plants(NPP) use highly transportable fuel. Considering that 1 kg of uranium replaces 2.5 thousand tons of coal, it is more expedient to locate nuclear power plants near the consumer, primarily in areas devoid of other types of fuel. The world's first nuclear power plant was built in 1954 in Obninsk (Kaluga region). Now in Russia there are 8 nuclear power plants, of which the most powerful are Kursk and Balakovskaya (Saratov region), 4 million kW each. Kola, Leningradskaya, Smolenskaya, Tverskaya, Novovoronezhskaya, Rostovskaya, Beloyarskaya also operate in the western regions of the country. In Chukotka - Bilibinskaya NPP.

The most important trend in the development of the electric power industry is the unification of power plants in power systems that produce, transmit and distribute electricity between consumers. They are a territorial combination of different types of power plants operating for a common load. Combining power plants into power systems contributes to the ability to choose the most economical load mode for different types of power plants; in conditions of a long state, the existence of standard time and the mismatch of peak loads in certain parts of such power systems, it is possible to maneuver the production of electricity in time and space and toss it as needed in opposite directions.

Currently operating Unified energy system(EEC) of Russia. It includes numerous power plants in the European part and Siberia, which operate in parallel, in a single mode, concentrating more than 4/5 of the total power of the country's power plants. Small isolated power systems operate in the regions of Russia east of Lake Baikal.

The energy strategy of Russia for the next decade provides for the further development of electrification through the economically and environmentally sound use of thermal power plants, nuclear power plants, hydroelectric power plants and non-traditional renewable types of energy, increasing the safety and reliability of operating nuclear power units.

1.1. Significance, features, technological structure and fuel base of the electric power industry

Electricity value for the life of the population and the functioning of the economy is such that in the modern world it is practically impossible to do without it. Electricity is a commodity that is one of the most significant values ​​among existing goods and services. Back in the twentieth century. the electric power industry has become a key sector of the economy in the vast majority of countries. Electricity is an important factor in the main socio-economic processes in the modern world: life support of the population and household consumption; production of goods and services; national security; environmental protection.

Electricity can be likened to air, which is rarely noticed, but without which life is impossible. If the power goes out, you find that the most basic, everyday conveniences are suddenly unavailable, and the tools that replaced them 100 years ago have long been out of use. Sectors of the economy that do not use stationary sources of electricity and do not work in a unified energy system are rather an exception in the modern economy - for example, automobile, water and air transport, crop production in agriculture or geological exploration. But even in these industries, technological processes are used that require sources of electricity. Without electricity, the production of most products would be impossible or would cost dozens of times more.

In a sense, electricity is the backbone of the modern technical and economic civilization. More recently, 150 years ago, electricity was absent in economic life. The leading source of energy was the living force of man and animals. It was only in the 16th century that the energy of water movement began to be used for industrial purposes (the so-called "water factories"), and in the 18th century. a steam engine appeared, in the middle of the 19th century. - internal combustion engine. An invention in the 19th century. technologies for the generation of electrical energy created the opportunity for widespread use of electrical mechanisms, dramatically increased labor productivity in many production operations. However, energy generation equipment had to be located near the devices that consume it, since there were no convenient and economical technologies for energy transmission.

The technical revolution that changed the face of the economy of all countries was the invention of the technology for transforming electricity in terms of voltage and current strength, transmitting it over long distances. This made the location of energy production, other goods and services largely independent from each other and ensured an increase in the efficiency of the economy.

Creation in the twentieth century. national and regional power systems consolidated the transition to the industrial stage of development of the world economy. Economic growth was mainly based on extensive factors: expanding the resource base and increasing employment. Almost until the last third of the XX century. technical progress and growth in production were accompanied by an increase in energy consumption, an increase in the power-to-labor ratio.

The electric power industry is the basic infrastructure industry in which the processes of production, transmission, and distribution of electricity are implemented. It has connections with all sectors of the economy, supplying them with produced electricity and heat and receiving resources from some of them for its functioning (Fig. 1.1.1).

cars and equipment

Rice. 1.1.1. Electricity in the modern economy

The role of the electric power industry in the XXI century. remains extremely important for the socio-economic development of any country and the world community as a whole. Energy consumption closely correlates with the level of business activity and the standard of living of the population. Scientific and technological progress and the development of new sectors and branches of the economy, improvement of technologies, improvement of the quality and improvement of living conditions of the population predetermine the expansion of the use of electricity and increased requirements for reliable and uninterrupted energy supply.

Features of the electric power industry as an industry are determined by the specifics of its main product - electricity, as well as the nature of the processes of its production and consumption.

Electricity is similar in its properties to a service: the production time coincides with the consumption time. However, this similarity is not an inherent physical property of electricity - the situation will change if efficient technologies for storing electricity appear on a large scale. So far, these are mainly accumulators of various types, as well as pumped storage stations.

The electric power industry must be ready to generate, transmit and supply electricity at the time of demand arises, including in the peak volume, having the necessary reserve capacities and fuel reserves for this. The higher the maximum (albeit short-term) value of demand, the more capacity must be in order to ensure the availability of service.

The impossibility of storing electricity on an industrial scale predetermines the technological unity of the entire process of production, transmission and consumption of electricity. This is probably the only industry in the modern economy where the continuity of production must be accompanied by the same continuous consumption. Due to this feature, in the electric power industry there are strict technical requirements for each stage of the technological cycle of production, transmission and consumption of the product, including the frequency of electric current and voltage.

A fundamental feature of electrical energy as a product that distinguishes it from all other types of goods and services is that its consumer can affect the sustainability of the manufacturer. The latter circumstance, for obvious reasons, can have a large number of completely unexpected consequences.

Obviously, the needs of the economy and society for electric energy significantly depend on weather factors, on the time of day, on the technological modes of various production processes in consumer industries, on the characteristics of households and even on the TV program. The difference between the maximum and minimum consumption levels determines the need for so-called reserve capacities, which are switched on only when the consumption level reaches a certain value.

The economic characteristics of electricity production depend on the type of power plant and the type of process fuel, on the degree of its load and on the operating mode. All other things being equal, the most in demand is the electric power of those stations that generate it at the right time and in the right amount at the lowest cost.

Taking into account all these features in the electric power industry, it is necessary and advisable to combine devices that produce energy - generators, into unified energy system, which provides a reduction in total production costs and reduces the need for redundancy of production capacities. These same properties determine the presence in the industry of a system operator who performs coordinating functions. It regulates the schedule and volume of both production and consumption of electricity. The decisions of the system operator are made on the basis of market signals from producers about the possibilities and cost of electricity production, from consumers - about the demand for it at certain time intervals. Ultimately, the system operator must ensure the reliable and safe operation of the power system, efficiently meeting the demand for electricity. Its activities are reflected in the production and financial results of all participants in the electricity market, as well as in their investment decisions.

Most of the world's electricity production comes from power plants of three types:

At thermal power plants (TPP), where the thermal energy generated during the combustion of organic fuel (coal, gas, fuel oil, peat, shale, etc.) is used to rotate turbines that drive an electric generator, thus being converted into electricity. Experience has demonstrated the effectiveness of the simultaneous production of heat and electricity in CHP plants, which has led to the spread of district heating in a number of countries;

· At hydroelectric power plants (HPPs), where the mechanical energy of the water flow is converted into electricity using hydraulic turbines that rotate electric generators;

In recent decades, attention to renewable energy sources... In particular, technologies for using solar and wind energy are being actively developed. The potential of these energy sources is enormous. However, today the production of electricity on an industrial scale from solar energy in most cases is less efficient than its production from traditional types of resources. With regard to wind energy, the situation here is somewhat different. In developed countries, especially under the influence of environmental movements, the conversion of wind energy to electricity has grown quite significantly. One cannot but mention geothermal energy, which can be of serious importance for some states or individual regions: Iceland, New Zealand, Russia (Kamchatka, Stavropol Territory, Krasnodar Territory, Kaliningrad Region). However, so far all these types of power generation are successfully developing in those countries where the production and (or) consumption of electricity based on renewable resources is subsidized by the state.

At the end of XX - beginning of XXI, interest in bioenergy resources has sharply increased. In some countries (for example, in Brazil), the production of electricity from biofuels has taken a prominent place in the energy balance. The USA has adopted a special biofuel subsidy program. However, at present, doubts about the prospects for the development of this direction in the electric power industry have sharply increased. On the one hand, it turned out that natural resources such as land and water are used very inefficiently in the production of biofuels; on the other, the allotment of vast arable land for biofuel production contributed to the doubling of food grain prices. All this in the foreseeable future makes the widespread use of biofuels in the electric power industry very problematic.

1.2. Russian electric power industry and its place in the world

Russia possesses significant reserves of natural energy resources, which creates an opportunity for long-term growth in electricity production in line with the growing demand from the economy. All major types of energy resources are represented in the Russian economy (see Fig. 1.2.1).

In the period from 1970 to 1990, the production of primary energy resources in the USSR increased from 801 million to 1857 million tons of fuel equivalent, and major changes took place in their structure. The share of gas increased significantly, while the share of coal and oil decreased. This was due to the rapid development of gas production in the USSR during these years.

After 1991, the Russian economy experienced a transformational recession, which led to a reduction in the production and consumption of energy resources. With the onset of economic growth in the 2000s. the picture changed, and by the middle of the current decade, Russia approached the level of production and consumption of energy resources in 1990. At present, Russia is one of the largest oil and gas producing countries in the world and not only provides domestic demand for these types of fuel, but also carries out significant export supplies (Tables 1.2.2, 1.2.3).

Rice. 1.2.1. The structure of the production of primary energy resources in the Russian economy (calculated by the Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences according to Rosstat data)

Analysis of the balance of energy resources in the Russian economy for 2006 shows that in the total volume of these resources (1,635.1 million tons of fuel equivalent), electricity accounts for only 20.1%, but in the total volume of their final consumption (981.5 million t. f.e.) - already 34.4%, that is, it is in first place, ahead of other energy resources in terms of share.

In Russia, gas occupies a significant place in the fuel resources used for conversion into other types of energy. This is due to the presence of the richest deposits in the country and the relative understatement of domestic gas prices. Therefore, there is a significant deviation of the structure of energy consumption from the global trend (Table 1.2.1). It is expected that in the next decade, changes in the structure of the fuel balance in our country will take place. In the period until 2020, the share of gas will remain the largest, but will gradually decline, while the share of coal will grow. These changes will lead to an increase in the efficiency of energy resources use in the Russian economy.

Table 1.2.1

The structure of consumption of fuel resources for conversion to other types of energy in the Russian economy (% of total consumption)

Coal

Fuel oil

Other

Redo the table: give data only for 1991 and 2006, in each column (for gas, coal, etc.) give figures for Russia and the world. Indicate the source.

Most of the electricity in Russia is currently produced and consumed domestically (see Tables 1.2.2, 1.2.3). More than half of the demand comes from the industrial sector of the economy, although compared to 1991 it has slightly decreased. The consumption shares of agriculture and transport have also declined over the past fifteen years, while the corresponding figure for other sectors has increased. This is due to structural changes in the Russian economy, which were accompanied by the redistribution of material, labor and financial resources between its sectors. In recent years, electricity consumption by the population has increased significantly, as the equipment of households with household electrical appliances is growing rapidly. The growing consumer demand for electricity is also due to the intensive construction of high-quality new modern housing. The rapidly growing market services sector has had a significant impact on the change in the structure of electricity consumption.

Table 1.2.2

Electricity balance of the Russian Federation, billion kWh

Production of everything

Consumed

Industry

Agriculture

By transport

Other industries

Households

*) Mining, manufacturing, production and distribution of electricity, gas and water.

**) Transport and communications.

Table 1.2.3

Electricity balance of the Russian Federation,%

Production, total

Received from outside the Russian Federation

Consumed in total

including consumed

Released outside the Russian Federation

industry

agriculture

transport

other industries

population

Note. Source - Rosstat

Taking into account the dynamics of demand and the development of the fuel base in the Russian Federation in the years. there was a significant decline, and in years. steady growth in electricity production (Table 1.2.4).

Table 1.2.4

Electricity production in Russia by type

power plants, billion kW. h, by years

Power plant type

All power plants

Including:

Note. Source - Rosstat

During this period, certain shifts occurred in the structure of generation: the share of electricity generation at TPPs decreased from 73 to 66.6%, the share of hydroelectric power plants eventually reached the pre-perestroika level of 15.7%, and the share of nuclear power plants increased from 11.2 to 17.7%.

The current structure of production and consumption of electricity in the Russian economy has developed in the course of its market transformations that began in 1992. Transformational recession entailed a reduction in the production and consumption of electricity. However, the decline in output in the electric power industry was less than in the economy as a whole, since the decline in production in electricity-intensive industries (metallurgy, oil refining, etc.) was less than in industries with relatively low electrical intensity (mechanical engineering, light industry, etc.). At the same time, after the liberalization of pricing, electricity tariffs grew much more slowly than prices for other goods (see Fig. 1.2.2).

Figure 1.2.2

The above-described shifts in the structure of production and price ratios in led to a significant increase in the electricity intensity of GDP.

After the financial crisis of 1998, the Russian economy resumed economic growth, and with it the demand for electricity increased. In years. its annual production rate exceeded 1.6%. At the same time, the growth rates of industrial prices and electricity tariffs have also come closer, and payment discipline has increased. There have been noticeable shifts in the structure of electricity consumption and electrical intensity of individual sectors of the economy.

Dynamics of electricity consumption in the service sector in characterized by the action of two oppositely directed trends: an increase in the share of the less electricity-intensive service sector in the structure of GDP, which was a factor in the narrowing of the total demand for electricity in the economy; the formation of new segments of the service market (modern communication systems, information and computing services, financial and credit and insurance institutions, etc.), which initiated an increase in electricity consumption in the national economy. After 1999, with the beginning of economic growth and the expansion of demand for services in new market segments, there is a trend towards a gradual decrease in the power intensity of the service sector.

Currently, the largest consumers of electricity are non-ferrous metallurgy, the fuel industry, and ferrous metallurgy. According to the Institute for the Economy in Transition (Fig. 1.2.3), about 37% of the electricity consumed by the industry falls on the share of the metallurgical complex and 33.0% - on the fuel and energy complex. Accordingly, the dynamics and efficiency of electricity use in these two complexes dominantly affects the nature of the electrical intensity of industry and the economy as a whole.

Rice. 1.2.3. The structure of electricity consumption in the Russian industry in 2003 (the shares of industries were calculated by the Institute for the Economy in Transition according to Rosstat data).

On the scale of the global economy, the Russian power industry has unique features:

· The largest territory of the unified energy system (8 time zones);

· Per unit of installed capacity of power plants, Russia has the greatest length of high-voltage electrical networks: 2.05 km / MW versus 0.75-0.8 km / MW in the USA and Europe.

The configuration of electrical grids and the joint operation of power plants of the unified energy system of the Russian Federation in a synchronous mode make it possible to largely realize the benefits of the most efficient use of generating capacities, economical fuel consumption and ensuring the reliability of power supply.

The Russian power system, one of the largest in the world economy, is among the top ten power systems in the world in terms of installed generating capacities, electricity production at power plants of three main types and exports (Tables 1.2.5-1.2.12). The installed capacity of power plants in Russia at the end of 2005 was approximately 217.2 million kW (the fourth largest figure after the United States, China and Japan) and amounted to about 5.6% of the total capacity of the world electric power industry. Russia is in fifth place in the world in terms of capacity and electricity production at hydroelectric power plants. The share in the total capacity of hydropower plants in the world is 6.1%; in production - about 6.0%. Russia is in fourth place in the world in terms of installed capacity and energy production at TPPs, the capacity of which is about 5.6% of the total capacity of TPPs in the world, and electricity generation is about 5.8%. Russia ranks fifth in the world in terms of capacity and production of nuclear power. It should be noted that 85% of nuclear power generation is concentrated in 10 countries. In recent years, about two-thirds of the world's electricity is produced at thermal power plants and approximately 17% at hydroelectric and nuclear power plants.

Table 1.2.5

Installed capacity of the Russian electric power industry by years (at the end of the year), million kW

Station types

All power plants

Including:

Note. Source - Rosstat

Table 1.2.6

Installed capacity of the largest national energy systems in the world by years

The country

200 5

Mln. kw

Mln. kw

Mln. kw

Russia

Germany

Brazil

Great Britain

The rest of the world

The whole world

2 929,295

3 279,313

3 871,952

2 929,295

Note. Source - IЕA

Table 1.2.7

Electricity production by the largest national power systems in the world by years

The country

Bln. kw.h

Bln. kw.h

Bln. kw.h

Russia

Germany

Great Britain

Brazil

Note. Source - IЕA

Table 1.2.8

Electricity exports by the largest national energy systems in the world in 2005

The country

Bln. kW. h

Germany

Paraguay

Switzerland

Czech Republic

Russia

Note. Source -IEA.

Table 1.2.9

Production and capacity of the largest hydropower plants in the world in 2005

The country

Installed capacity

The country

Power generation

Mln. kw

Mln. kW. h

Brazil

Brazil

Russia

Russia

Norway

Norway

Venezuela

The whole world

The whole world