Zaporizhzhia thermal power station is a large thermal power plant (DRES) in the purpose-built city of Enerhodar in Ukraine. It is the most powerful thermal power station in Ukraine, with an installed capacity of 2,850 MWe. Its primary fuel is coal. It can also fire natural gas and fuel oil,[2] and has tank storage for these reserve fuels adjacent to the coal bunkers.
Operation
The plant was built by the Soviet Union between 1971 and 1977.[2]
The plant has two 320-metre (1,050 ft) tall flue-gas stacks, which are among the tallest free-standing structures in Ukraine.[3]: 61 The plant is not equipped with any flue gas desulphurization systems, and uses electrostatic precipitators to remove fly ash prior to the flue gas being exhausted via one of the two chimneys. Like many other coal-fired generating stations, the Zaporizhzhia site encompasses an ash pond. Coal ash from the boilers is delivered by pipe to the 135 hectare (333 acre) pond where it is disposed of.[citation needed]
On 4 March 2022, the thermal plant and the adjacent Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant were captured by Russian forces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 5 May 2022, the thermal power plant stopped operating after it ran out of coal, as it was unable to get further deliveries due to the invasion.[4]
Unit specifications
As of January 1, 2021, the installed capacity is 2,850 MW:
2 units (numbers 2 and 4) of 300 MW each with CCI-312 boilers and K-300-240-2 turbines
2 units (numbers 1 and 3) of 325 MW each with CCI-312 boilers and K-325-23.5 turbines
2 units (numbers 5 and 7) of 800 MW each with TGMP-204/A boilers and K-800-240-3 turbines, but not in operation[2]
A third 800 MW unit (number 6) has been decommissioned.
On February 3, 2021, the entire city of Enerhodar, as well as several neighboring towns lost power. This was caused by an accident at the Zaporizhzhia thermal power station, where, according to the officials, power output of the plants units dropped to zero.
According to Centrenergo, the plant's operator:
The accident was caused by an emergency shutdown of power unit No. 1 of Zaporizhzhya thermal power plant and No. 9 of Kurakhovskaya thermal power plant due to damage to the heating surface of the boiler unit. Now the power engineers are eliminating the violations and after the repair they promise to resume the operation of the energy system. Such a technological disruption is not uncommon for any thermal generation, especially during periods of high load.
In order to balance the system, power unit No. 10 of the Krivorozhskaya TPP was taken out of repair ahead of schedule. At the command of NEC Ukrenergo, power units No. 9 and 12 of Burshtynskaya TPP and No. 7 of Dobrotvorskaya TPP were synchronized to the grid and began supplying power.[6]
