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Zelenchukskaya HPP-PSPP

Hydro power plant in Karachayevo-Cherkesiya, Russia. Approximate location 43.8983, 41.8825.

HydroKarachayevo-CherkesiyaRussiapumped storage

Zelenchukskaya HPP-PSPP is a 300 MW hydro power station in Karachayevo-Cherkesiya, Russia. It is operated by PJSC "RusHydro". Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 300k homes (estimated). It ranks #250 of 678 Russia power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1999, it is around 27 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 16.7% of Russia's electricity; the national grid averages 450 gCO₂/kWh (35.7% low-carbon) (2025).

300Source-backed capacity
300,342homes powered (est.)
1999commissioned (~27 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1061686.

Data status

Known data

FacilityZelenchukskaya HPP-PSPP WRI
CountryRussia · Karachayevo-Cherkesiya WRI
Coordinates43.8983, 41.8825 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity300 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerPJSC "RusHydro" WRI
Commissioned1999 WRI
Technologypumped storage WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#250 of 678 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#26 of 105 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers4.17× · 72 MW median · 105 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent300,342 calculated
Environmental severityC3 · 28/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsnot applicable not applicable

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000603296); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 300 MW, Zelenchukskaya HPP-PSPP is well above the median hydro plant in Russia (72 MW). Technically it is described as pumped storage. Hydropower converts the energy of falling or flowing water into electricity; output depends on rainfall and reservoir level, and large dams also provide grid balancing and storage.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in Russia

Krasnoyarsk: 6,000 MW6kKrasnoyarskBratsk HPP: 4,500 MW4kBratsk HPPUst Illminsk (HPP): 3,840 MW4kUst Illmin…Boguchanskaya HPP: 2,997 MW3kBoguchansk…Volzhskaya HPP: 2,734 MW3kVolzhskaya…Zhigulevskaya HPP: 2,488 MW2kZhigulevsk…Byreyskaya HPP: 2,010 MW2kByreyskaya…Dagestan Branch: 1,786 MW2kDagestan B…

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by PJSC "RusHydro". All plants by this company →

Climate zone & how it works

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 43.9°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

~6°Ctypical annual mean
~19°Ctypical warm-season mean
Warm-summer humid continental: four distinct seasons — cold winters and warm summers

Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
28/100environmental-severity index
17.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
137 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #26 largest hydro power plant of 105 in Russia by capacity.

Russia has 105 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 45,810 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 43.8983, 41.8825 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Zelenchukskaya HPP-PSPP?

Zelenchukskaya HPP-PSPP is a 300 MW source-record hydro power plant in Karachayevo-Cherkesiya, Russia, commissioned in 1999.

How many homes can Zelenchukskaya HPP-PSPP power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 300,342 homes (estimated).

Who operates Zelenchukskaya HPP-PSPP?

Zelenchukskaya HPP-PSPP is operated by PJSC "RusHydro".

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