Installation of the first wind turbine was completed at the construction site of the Sulinskaya Wind Power Plant (Krasnosulinsky District, The Rostov Oblast). This was an important step in the implementation of the large-scale investment programme of the Wind Energy Development Fund (a joint investment fund created on a parity basis by PJSC Fortum and JSC RUSNANO), which provides for the construction of three wind farms in the Rostov Oblast with a total capacity of 300 MW.
A total of 78 Vestas wind turbines with a capacity of 3.8 MW each will be installed at the Kamenskaya Wind Farm, Sulinskaya Wind Farm and Gukovskaya Wind Farm. The wind farms will start supplying electricity to the wholesale market for electricity and power (WMEP) in the first half of 2020.
“The construction of the wind farms in the Rostov Oblast is a large-scale wind energy project in Russia. It uses the technologies that proved their effectiveness during the construction of the Ulyanovsk Wind Farm-2, the first completed project by the Fund. The construction of three wind farms with total capacity of 300 MW leads us to the pace and volume of construction necessary for the implementation of the ambitious investment programme in RES, which provides for the commissioning of 1,823 MW by the end of 2023”, – Alexander Chuvaev commented, Director General of the Vetroenergetika Management Company.
“The Rostov Oblast plays an important role in the creation of the new industrial cluster of renewable energy in Russia. Thanks to the region’s rich wind potential, the largest regional investment programme of the Wind Energy Development Fund is being implemented here. The construction of the future wind farms is carried out with the use of Russian equipment; blades, towers, nacelles will ensure the degree of localisation at the level of at least 65%. Moreover, steel towers, one of the key elements of a wind turbine, are produced with the participation of RUSNANO proximately in the Rostov Oblast”, – Alisher Kalanov says, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Vetroenergetika MC.
The Wind Energy Development Fund was established by partners to invest in the construction of wind farms. The Fund is managed by the Vetroenergetika Managing Company, which belongs to Fortum and RUSNANO in equal shares. According to the results of competitive selection of investment projects for construction of generating facilities based on the use of renewable energy sources, the Fund has won the right to build almost 2 GW of wind power. The wind parks are to be put into operation in 2019-2023. The first completed joint project of the partnership was Ulyanovsk Wind Farm-2 with a capacity of 50 MW. The plant started supplying electricity to the WMEP in January 2019.
In 2017, the Vetroenergetika MC and the Government of the Rostov Oblast signed a cooperation agreement that provides for the construction of wind farms with a total capacity of up to 600 MW in the region in 2018-2021.