HPP-1 close-up
HPP-2 close-up
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1 Turbine (runner)
A component of a hydropower unit located in the HPP dam structure. Water turns the turbine runner blades, generating mechanical energy.
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2 Generator
A component of a hydropower unit connected to the turbine by a shaft. The generator converts mechanical into electrical energy.
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3 Machine hall bridge crane
Is used for moving the hydropower unit components during the assembly and dismantling of hydropower units.
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4 Machine hall
The building where the hydropower units and their auxiliary equipment are located.
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5 Upstream gate lifting mechanism
Is used for lifting and lowering the gates for the purposes of closing the penstock.
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6 Turbine inlet trash rack
Its function is to prevent all kinds of floating objects from getting into the penstock.
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7 Downstream gantry crane
Is used for lifting and lowering the downstream gates, draining or flooding the draft tube.
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8 Downstream gate
Is used for draining or flooding the draft tube.
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9 Drainage pit
Is used for inspecting the foundation structures of the HPP building.
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1 Turbine (runner)
A component of a hydropower unit located in the HPP dam structure. Water turns the turbine runner blades, generating mechanical energy.
-
2 Generator
A component of a hydropower unit connected to the turbine by a shaft. The generator converts mechanical into electrical energy.
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3 Transformer
Its function is to increase the voltage, so that the electricity generated by hydropower units can be transferred to the transmission grid.
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4 Machine hall bridge crane
Is used for moving the hydropower unit components during the assembly and dismantling of hydropower units.
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5 Machine hall
The building where the hydropower units and their auxiliary equipment are located.
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6 Upstream gantry crane
Is used for lifting and lowering the gates for the purposes of closing the penstock as well as removing debris from the trash racks.
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7 Turbine inlet trash rack
Its function is to prevent all kinds of floating objects from getting into the penstock.
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8 Downstream gantry crane
Is used for lifting and lowering the downstream gates, draining or flooding the draft tube.
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9 Upstream and downstream gates
Are used for closing the waterways and draining the inlet pipe during the maintenance or repair of the hydropower unit turbine.
360° virtual tour
Facts Kegums HPP
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Location
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Technical data
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Generated power
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The beginnings of Latvian power system
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Birthday of Latvenergo Group
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One of the most advanced HPPs of the time in Europe
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UNESCO’s industrial heritage
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People involved in construction of Kegums HPP
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Valuable relics of the history of Latvia
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First real estate bubble
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Archaeological finds
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Kegums, 70 km from the Daugava River mouth
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- Kegums HPP currently consists of two power plants built in different periods of time. One of them is located on the right bank of the Daugava River (built from 1936 to 1940), and the other one – on the left bank (built from 1976 to 1979).
- There are 7 hydropower units in total, 4 and 3 respectively respectively in each power plant
- The maximum head of the HPP is 14 metres
- The total installed capacity of Kegums HPP is 264 MW - Kegums HPP generates about 10% of all electric power generated in Latvia.
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Kegums HPP is the first hydropower plant on the Daugava River, which was built in the first period of Latvian independence. The year 1939, when the HPP began generating electricity, marks the beginnings of the single Latvian power system.
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22 December 1939 when the Latvian State President Kārlis Ulmanis signed the Law on Establishing the State Electricity Enterprise Kegums is considered the birthday of Latvenergo Group.
- Kegums HPP was the most state-of-the-art hydropower plant in the Baltic region and one of the most modern hydraulic structures in Europe in the 1930’s. It is noteworthy that engineers wrote a lot in the German press about the hydropower plant during its construction, admiring the extremely advanced technology used in the process.
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The Latvian National Register of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme includes four historic values, one of which being Eduards Kraucs’ Collection of Glass Plate Photographic Negatives – the Course of the Construction of Kegums Power Plant 1936-1940. The collection depicts the course of the construction of a technical-engineering facility unique in Northern Europe and the Baltic region – Kegums Power Plant – during the period from 8 September 1936 until 20 July 1940. The negatives, being the only one of their kind, are stored in the Energy Museum of Latvenergo Group.
- Between 1400 and 1800 people of different occupations were involved in the construction of Kegums HPP from 1937 to 1940. The workers were paid from 3.80 to 5 lats per day, depending on their qualifications. A three-course lunch was 0.5 lats.
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The book 100 Relics of the History of Latvia features the most ancient, most expensive and most valuable relics of Latvian history from the Latvian National Museum of History. Among the top 100 relics is the silver plated brass hammer used for foundation stone laying at Kegums HPP in 1937.
- One of the first real estate bubbles in Latvia was observed during the construction of the HPP in Kegums: at the beginning of construction in Kegums a room for rent was around 20 lats per month and later the price escalated to 50 lats.
- During the construction of Kegums HPP, a pot of money holding about one kilo of silver coins was found near Tuntuli house. The money – a total of 879 pieces – was wrapped in birchbark and dated back to the period of reign of the Swedish King Gustav Adolf (first half of the 17th century).
