Sow wise, good, eternal
The electric power industry is of great importance for the world's population. The well-being of every family depends on the availability of electricity sources. Energy enterprises are large-scale and very complex strategic facilities, where all work is subject to strict discipline, professionalism, as well as the transparency of production processes and sustainable development goals. All this allows such huge facilities as power plants to develop and conduct large sustainable projects and introduce up-to-date technologies.
A vivid example of this is Konakovskaya GRES of Enel Russia. On September 14, the power plant officially completed a large-scale environmental project to eliminate the sludge dump and reclaim used land.
The sludge dump at Konakovskaya GRES was a hydraulic structure, which consisted of 6 tanks with a volume of 90,000 m3, located on a territory with a total area of 8 hectares, where washing water was stored. In the past, when fuel oil was used as the main fuel in the power plant, ash and soot deposits formed on the heating surfaces of boilers. During the operation of the sludge dump, the sediments were washed away with water and sent to the hydraulic structure, where water was settled and sludge deposits were deposited on the bottom of the pits. In the 2010s Konakovskaya GRES was completely switched over to work on natural gas, and the amount of washing water generated was correspondingly reduced. This became an ecologically justified reason for the liberation of a vast territory from industrial load and the restoration of the fertile layer of the land.
As a result of the dismantling of the sludge dump structures, about 8 thousand tons of waste and remnants of asphalt concrete structures were formed. 98% of the waste found a second life in the production of asphalt mixes, and 2% of the waste was transferred to specialized landfills.
Since fuel oil remains an obligatory reserve fuel at Konakovskaya GRES, a special neutralization unit was built to utilize some possible volumes of ash and soot deposits.
Throughout the operation of the sludge dump, as well as after its liquidation, the employees of Konakovskaya GRES continue to constantly monitor the state of groundwater in the area adjacent to the former sludge dump using chemical analysis of water samples in 5 piezometric wells.
The entire project to eliminate the sludge dump lasted about 9 years. Dozens of people have worked towards this common purpose, choosing to restore land, improve resource efficiency and promote more sustainable lifestyles.
On September 14, at a solemn event dedicated to the completion of the project to eliminate the sludge dump, employees of Konakovskaya GRES, together with representatives of local and regional authorities, bloggers and journalists, sowed the last hectare of the former sludge dump with meadow grasses.
We return reclaimed land to nature after responsibly using its resources to generate electricity for the needs of the country's population.