Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya power station

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Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya power station (Южно-Кузбасская ГРЭС) is an operating power station of at least 554-megawatts (MW) in Kaltan, Kemerovo, Russia. It is also known as Southern Kuzbass power station.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya power station Kaltan, Kaltan, Kemerovo, Russia 53.511626, 87.264498 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5, Unit 6, Unit 7, Unit 8: 53.511626, 87.264498

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 operating coal - bituminous 53 subcritical 1951 2030 (planned)
Unit 2 operating coal - bituminous 53 subcritical 1951 2030 (planned)
Unit 3 operating coal - bituminous 53 subcritical 1952 2030 (planned)
Unit 4 operating coal - bituminous 53 subcritical 1953
Unit 5 operating coal - bituminous 113 subcritical 2003
Unit 6 operating coal - bituminous 88 subcritical 1992
Unit 7 operating coal - bituminous 53 subcritical 1954
Unit 8 operating coal - bituminous 88 subcritical 1994

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 1 Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya GRES PJSC [100.0%]
Unit 2 Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya GRES PJSC [100.0%]
Unit 3 Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya GRES PJSC [100.0%]
Unit 4 Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya GRES PJSC [100.0%]
Unit 5 Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya GRES PJSC [100.0%]
Unit 6 Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya GRES PJSC [100.0%]
Unit 7 Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya GRES PJSC [100.0%]
Unit 8 Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya GRES PJSC [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

  • Coal source(s): Kuznetsk Coal

Background

The 554-MW coal-fired Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya power station is operated by Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya GRES PJSC and owned by Mechel. The plant was constructed between 1951 and 1956. It has 8 turbine units and 11 coal-fired boiler units.[1][2]

Although the turbine units have rated capacity of 590 MW, as of June 2021 and November 2022, Mechel's and the plant's websites listed the plant as having 554 MW of capacity.[3][2] This was confirmed in the System Operator's document released in early 2023 showing 554 MW of capacity.[4]

The Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya power station has operated at a loss for 11 out of 12 years. In 2020, the plant recorded a net loss of RUR 126 million.[5] In March 2021, four companies took PJSC Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya GRES to arbitration court, aiming to force the power station into bankruptcy to force it to pay debts owed to the four companies.[6] The financial woes of the Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya power station were part of a larger saga of financial trouble for Mechel, which some observers speculated would be forced into bankruptcy due to major outstanding debts that the company has no ability to pay.[7] In January 2022, Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya GRES PJSC was named as a defendant in a legal filing aiming to recover €80 million in damages from Mechel.[8][9]

In 2021 the plant generated 1.2 billion kWh of electricity[10] and consumed approximately 1 million tonnes of steam coal and middlings sourced both from Mechel's own coal mines assets and from third parties.[11] In 2022, the plant generated over 1 billion kWh of electricity and planned to increase its refurbishment expenditure by 17% in 2023.[12][13]

Modernization and Retirement

The System Operator's document published in early 2023 did not state planned capacity increases or retirements until 2028.[4] However, the government decree published in December 2022 on the General Allocation of Power Assets until 2035 for power plants above 500MW of capacity stated that four 53MW turbine units and one 88 MW unit will be replaced with a new 60MW unit and one 115 MW unit by 2030. This will reduce the capacity of the station to 429MW.[14]

Environmental and safety violations

In September 2020 it was reported that an inspection of the plant found 84 violations of various laws, including a failure to examine boilers, high-pressure heaters, and steam pipelines that were near the end of their service life, and violations involving failures to repair electrical equipment.[15] Another inspection in February 2021 found that the lining of boiler unit 5 was severely malfunctioning and operating under excessive pressure. The inspection stated that this gross violations of safety protocol posed an immediate threat to the life and health of workers. As a result of the inspection, a court ordered that the boiler suspend operations for 30 days.[16] However, a July 2021 report stated that the power station had continued to operate in violation of court orders.[17]

In February 2022, the "black snow" has covered the streets of the city of Kaltan, caused by the pollution from the power station. There were also numerous complaints about air pollution from the citizens in the summer.[18] It was reported that in response to complaints in 2020, governor of the region spoke about the "difficult financial situation" of the Mechel group, which was aggravated "by to the global crisis in the coal industry."[18]

In July 2022, the Federal Service for Technical Supervision (Rostechnadzor) suspended the operations of the 'parts of the plant' for 90 days, in particular due to lack of control over the condition of pressure equipment, no conclusions of examinations of industrial safety of boilers, insufficient tightening of springs, hangers and supports, insufficient thermal insulation of pipelines and unfinished repairs.[19] Nevertheless the plant continued to operate as before as it confirmed its readiness for the winter season in November 2022.[20]

Reports of excessive dark smoke coming from the plant and local residents 'suffocating' continued in 2023.[21][22]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. Южно-Кузбасская ГРЭС, Wikipedia (Russian), accessed June 2018.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya power station website, accessed June 2018 and November 2022
  3. Южно-Кузбасская ГРЭС, Mechel, Accessed June 13, 2021
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Перечень электростанций, действующих и планируемых к сооружению, расширению, модернизации и выводу из эксплуатации (page 52)" (PDF). www.so-ups.ru. February 2023. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 115 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":4" defined multiple times with different content
  5. Южно-Кузбасская ГРЭС "Мечела" 15-й год подряд не планирует выплачивать дивиденды, Interfax, May 21, 2021
  6. Четыре компании в марте захотели обанкротить Южно-Кузбасскую ГРЭС Мечела, Interfax, Mar. 19, 2021
  7. Степанова В долгах как в шелках: холдинг «Мечел» рискует обанкротиться?, Regnum, Mar. 23, 2021
  8. Кипрский суд арестовал часть активов «Мечела», RBC, Jan. 11, 2022
  9. «Мечел» оказался в киприотской ситуации, Kommersant, Jan. 11, 2022
  10. UKGres. "2021 Annual Report". ukgres.ru. Retrieved November 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. Mechel. "F-20 Form" (PDF). mechel.com. Retrieved November 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "Южно-Кузбасская ГРЭС за 2022 год выработала более миллиарда кВт/ч". www.energyland.info. December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. "Южно-Кузбасская ГРЭС "Мечела" в 2023г намерена увеличить ремонтную программу почти на 17%". www.interfax-russia.ru. December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. "Генеральная схема размещение объектов до 2035 года". base.garant.ru. December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. Почти 100 нарушений нашли на ТЭЦ в кузбасской Юрге, Interfax Russia, Sep. 15, 2020
  16. В Кузбассе за грубые нарушения закрыли паровой котёл ГРЭС, Sibdepo, Feb. 11, 2021
  17. Кузбасская ГРЭС продолжает работать с нарушениями экологических норм, NGS42, July 27, 2021
  18. 18.0 18.1 "Черный снег вновь выпал на улицах кузбасского города". ngs42.ru. Feb 10, 2022. Retrieved Jun 27, 2022.
  19. "Ростехнадзор нашел на объектах калтанской ГРЭС в Кузбассе почти 100 нарушений". ngs42.ru. July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. "Южно-Кузбасская ГРЭС получила паспорт готовности к работе в зимний период". gazeta.a42.ru. November 14, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. "Дым и копоть: Осинники и Калтан задыхаются из-за «Южно-Кузбасской ГРЭС»". vesti42.ru. March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. "Панов разъяснил, почему коптила Южно-Кузбасская ГРЭС Мечела". https://vashgorod.ru/. July 2023. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.