#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. In the winter of 1963, the village of Snezhnogorsk on the Khantayka river had a thousand inhabitants.
The main forces of the builders arrived from the taiga river Mamakan. There were also Norilsk people among the paratroopers. The headquarters of the construction was in Norilsk.
In 1965, hydro-builders commissioned the reservoir and built a 158-kilometer transmission line from Snezhnogorsk to Norilsk. Two years later, the channel of the Khantayka was blocked by a dam of the future hydroelectric power station: the river was directed into a 300-meter tunnel punched into the rock.
The first power unit of the northernmost hydroelectric power station was launched on the eve of the polar night on November 20, 1970, which was the main gift for the 35th anniversary of the Norilsk combine.
The start of the seventh and last unit took place in 1972. By the end of the year, having reached its design capacity, the hydroelectric power station produced a billion kilowatt-hours for the industrial region.
The machine room, from where seven units send energy through two power lines to Big Norilsk, is an artificial grotto (140x18x20 meters) below the river bottom. The building, which intergrew into the rock, has 19 floors.
Read other materials of our photo project in the History spot section.
Text: Varvara Sosnovskaya, Photo: Nornickel Polar Division archive
