Academician B.E. Vedeneev about the problems of use of energy of Irtysh

Tetyana Karadobriy

Abstract— The article highlights the contribution of academician B. E. Vedeneev in the hydropower plants construction on the river Irtysh. The developments and proposals put forward by the prominent figure of native hydropower have played a significant role in creating new important sources of cheap electric power, feeding vast areas of Altai and Eastern Kazakhstan. In the 30-s of the XX-th century B. Ye. Vedeneev assessed hydrogeological conditions of the river Irtysh. According to his opinion they were very favorable friendly for the construction of hydropower plants. There was a possibility to erect all the dams on a solid rock bed on the section from the lake Zaisan to Semypalatyns'k. He also indicated that the terrain conditions were ideal for hydrotechnical building, because the river Irtysh valley was not very wide and had a number of narrowings. So its natural and historical conditions allowed making use of the river's high capacity not erecting costly hydrotechnical structures.

Key words: Boris Vedeneev, cost of construction, Ust-Kam'yanohorska hydropower plant, Buhtarmynska hydropower plant