Bratsk HPP Webcam — Live Online Broadcast

Introduction

The Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station is one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in Russia, located on the Angara River in the city of Bratsk, Irkutsk Oblast. This live webcam offers a panoramic view of the concrete dam, which carries a carriageway and the railway tracks of the Tayshet — Lena mainline. To the right of the dam stretches the vast Bratsk Reservoir, with the city of Bratsk visible in the distance among forested hills. The live stream allows you to observe the movement of vehicles and trains in real time.

Construction History

Construction of the Bratsk HPP began in 1954 and was declared a Komsomol shock construction project. Thousands of young people from across the country participated in the work. The uniqueness of the project lay in the fact that on March 30, 1957, for the first time in the world, the right bank of the Angara was blocked directly from the ice. This operation took just 9 hours and 30 minutes and was carried out by 8 excavators and 220 dump trucks.

The Bratsk HPP dam was completed in 1961, and the filling of the reservoir was completed in 1967. The first hydroelectric unit was commissioned in 1961, the last in 1966. Until 1971, the Bratsk HPP held the title of the largest hydroelectric power station in the world, ceding it to the Krasnoyarsk HPP.

Technical Specifications and Records

The height of the Bratsk HPP concrete dam is 124.5 meters, and its length is 924 meters. The dam contains 5 million tons of concrete and 40 thousand tons of metal structures, which is almost six times more than the Eiffel Tower. The installed electric capacity of the station is 4500 MW, with an average annual output of 21,553.7 million kWh. The HPP building houses 18 hydroelectric units, each with a capacity of 250 MW.

The Bratsk HPP is among the top three largest hydroelectric power plants in Russia, after the Sayano-Shushenskaya and Krasnoyarsk plants, holding the top spot until 1971. The pressure structures have a length of 5 km, and the bank dams have a total length of about 4.5 km.

Bratsk Reservoir

The Bratsk Reservoir is the second largest man-made lake in the world by volume, after Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. The reservoir volume is 169 km³, the water surface area ranges from 5,426 km² to 5,470 km², and the useful volume is 35.41 km³. The length of the reservoir reaches 570 km, the maximum width is 25 km, the average depth is 31 meters, and near the dam it exceeds 100 meters.

In outline, the Bratsk Reservoir resembles the body of a mythical dragon or a "plump and hairy caterpillar" due to its highly indented shoreline, which is about 7,400 km long. It is the largest reservoir in Russia by volume, second only to the Kuybyshev Reservoir in terms of area.

Role in the Angara Cascade of HPPs

The Bratsk HPP is the second HPP in the Angara cascade, after the Irkutsk HPP, followed by the Ust-Ilimsk and Boguchany HPPs. The dams of the Angara cascade changed the water level of Lake Baikal, raising it by approximately 1.4 meters. The Bratsk HPP played a key role in the development of the region's industry, providing energy to the Bratsk Aluminum Plant and the Ust-Ilimsk Timber Processing Complex.

The station is part of the En+ holding, along with the Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, and Ust-Ilimsk HPPs and eight thermal power plants. The electricity generated by the Bratsk HPP is used to operate the largest industrial enterprises in Siberia.

What You Can See on the Camera

This live webcam broadcasts a panoramic view of the Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station dam on the Angara River. The dam carries a carriageway with moving cars and trucks, and parallel railway tracks where trains run. To the right of the dam stretches the vast reservoir with a calm water surface. In the distance, you can see the city of Bratsk, located among forested hills and rocky shores. In the foreground, there are coniferous and deciduous trees, industrial and administrative buildings, and a parking area with cars. The live stream operates around the clock, allowing you to observe the life of this industrial giant at any time of day.