Volga Hydroelectric Station

Volga Hydroelectric Power Station
Official nameВолжская ГЭС
LocationVolga, Russia
Coordinates48°49′34″N 44°40′19″E / 48.82611°N 44.67194°E / 48.82611; 44.67194
Construction began6 August 1950
Opening date10 September 1961
Operator(s)RusHydro
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsVolga River
Height44 m (144 ft)
Length725 m (2,379 ft)
Reservoir
CreatesVolgograd Reservoir
Total capacity31.5 km3 (8 cu mi)
Surface area3,117 km2 (1,203 sq mi)
Power Station
Turbines1 × 115.0 MW
16 × 125.5 MW
5 × 120.0 MW
1 × 11.0 MW
Installed capacity2,734 MW
2,744.5 MW (max)
Annual generation10,999 GWh (2015)
Static inverter of HVDC Volgograd-Donbass on dam

The Volga Hydroelectric Station or Volga GES (Russian: Волжская ГЭС) also known as the 22nd Congress of the CPSU Stalingrad/Volgograd Hydroelectric Power Station (Russian: Сталинградская/Волгоградская ГЭС имени XXII съезда КПСС), is the largest hydroelectric station in Europe, and the last of the Volga-Kama Cascade of dams, immediately before the Volga River flows into the Caspian Sea. It was the largest powerstation in the world between 1960 and 1963. Today, it is operated by the partly government-owned electricity company RusHydro.