#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The State Duma deputy, the UN Environment Program’s goodwill ambassador Vyacheslav Fetisov arrived in Norilsk on a working visit. He visited one of the northernmost hydroelectric stations (HES) in the world. The Ust-Hantaisk HES is located in the hydropower engineers’ village Snezhnogorsk. It’s the most remote Norilsk district administratively and territorially.
An underground hydroelectric station was built in the 1960s. Its machine room is located in the body of the rock, and the turbine goes to a 60 meters depth. The station is a key energy source for the Norilsk industrial region.
The HES started operating at full capacity in October 2021 after the replacement of the last, seventh hydroelectric unit. The unique HES modernization project in Russia is another step taken by Nornickel in the implementation of the program to upgrade the energy infrastructure and produce carbon-neutral metals.
“There’s a fantastic atmosphere. You understand that colossal work was has been done, scientific thought, engineering solutions, the uniqueness of everything in general that is connected with work in the Arctic zone. Just fantastic!
For me, as a deputy, the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation head and the UN ambassador, many areas are important, including the Arctic, understanding how the industry works, seeing new turbines, which are also designed by our engineers and designers.
An important factor is import substitution. I understand that our thought is so unique in this regard and we are ahead of the rest and in this segment we are practically independent of external factors. I’m impressed. I walk like a kid – I’m glad what I see”, shared Vyacheslav Fetisov.
The deputy visited the Snezhnogorsk Museum after the Ust-Hantaisk HES, met with its residents and signed autographs.
It isn’t Vyacheslav’s first time in Norilsk. He assessed the Sulfur Program’s scale and visited the Nornickel Polar Division’s monitoring center for buildings and structures during previous visits.
Follow us on Telegram, VKontakte.
Text: Angelica Stepanova, Photo: Marina Peshkova
