The first large

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

-fired

thermal power station A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a stea ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

was built on a location about 80 km away from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, in the place of the current city of

Elektrogorsk Elektrogorsk (russian: Электрого́рск) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east from Moscow. Population: History Elektrogorsk was founded in 1912 due to the construction of the first big peat-fired thermal power station in Ru ...

, during 1912-1914. It was called ''Elektroperedacha'' (literally "

electric power transmission Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...

"), and the settlement around the station (future Elektrogorsk) acquired this name, Elektroperedacha, as well. Today the station is called GRES-3 or Elektrogorskaya GRES.

Terminology

The abbreviations below are commonly used in the names of power stations. The term GRES (russian: ГРЭС (Государственная Районная Электростанция), lit=State Regional Power Station, uk, ДРЕС, translit=DRES) refers to a condenser type electricity-only

introduced in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

which still exist in

and other former Soviet republics. The Russian abbreviation ГРЭС stands for Государственная районная электростанция, or "state-owned district power plant" (often abbreviated in English as SDPP). Over time the abbreviation has lost its literal meaning, and the term refers to a high-power (thousands of

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units, International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), ...

) thermal power station of condenser type. The term TEC or TETs (russian: ТЭЦ, теплоэлектроцентраль) refers to

combined heat and power plant Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...

History

The Soviet GOELRO plan of 1920s provided for construction of several GRES (along with 20 TEC and 10

hydroelectrostation Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

s, the best known among them is

Shatura Power Station The Shatura Power Station (, or GRES-5 locally) is one of the oldest power stations in Russia. The facility is located in Shatura, Moscow Oblast, and generates power by utilizing two 210 MW units, three 200 MW units, and one 80 MW unit, for a t ...

(peat-fired, planned already in 1914). The first GRES were constructed upon the initiative of power engineer

Robert Klasson The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

.''The Electrification of Russia, 1880-1926'', by Jonathan Coopersmith, 1992,

References

{{Portal, Russia, Energy Fossil fuel power stations in Russia Power stations built in the Soviet Union Science and technology in the Soviet Union