The Svetlinskaya HPP in Yakutia has reached its design capacity of 370 MW after the launch of its fourth hydropower unit with a capacity of 104 MW. ALROSA commissioned the equipment more than six months ahead of schedule, completing the construction of the station, which began back in Soviet times.
The Svetlinskaya HPP became the world's first hydropower plant built on permafrost, rather than on a traditional rock foundation. The station on the Vilyui River in the Mirninsky District of Yakutia is the second stage of the Vilyui cascade and provides electricity to ALROSA enterprises, as well as consumers in the Western energy region of the republic. After the launch of the fourth unit, the installed capacity increased to the projected 370 MW.
Construction of the fourth hydropower unit began in 2020. In 2025, more than 2.4 thousand tons of equipment were delivered to the site, the installation of the main equipment started in December of the same year, and in August 2026, the unit was assembled and tested.
Initially, commissioning was planned for April 2027, but the equipment was launched in September 2026. Investments in the project exceeded 5 billion rubles.
The fourth unit was manufactured by the Russian company "Silovye Mashiny". The first three hydropower units of the Svetlinskaya HPP were also produced by this company and were commissioned in 2004–2008. According to "Silovye Mashiny", the launch of the fourth unit increased the station's capacity by 104 MW, or by 37.5%.