Fortum, Rusnano to Build Wind Projects Worth 200 MW in Orenburg

The Fortum-Rusnano wind investment fund has signed a non-binding cooperation agreement for the construction of wind farms worth 200 MW in Orenburg.

The Fortum-Rusnano wind investment fund, a joint venture established by Fortum and Rusnano on a parity basis, and the Government of Orenburg Region in Russia have signed a non-binding cooperation agreement that envisages construction of wind farms with a total capacity of up to 200 MW in the region in 2021–2023.

The document was signed by the Governor of Orenburg Region Denis Pasler and CEO of the Fortum-Rusnano wind investment fund Alexander Chuvaev. The document outlines the principles of the parties’ cooperation in the development and implementation of the investment project for the construction of wind generation facilities that will operate in the wholesale market. Investment decisions will be made on a case by case basis.

“Orenburg region has been a leader in solar energy for a long time now, but the region’s wind potential and experience in operation of small wind power plants make it attractive for commercial-scale wind farm projects as well. Development of wind energy in the region will further boost its energy efficiency and development of energy infrastructure,” Chuvaev said.

The partners established the wind investment fund to invest in wind farms. Following competitive selection of RES generating facility investment projects, the Fund was selected to construct almost 2 GW of wind generation. The wind farms are expected to be commissioned during 2019–2023.

The Ulyanovsk Wind Farm 2 with 50 MW of generation capacity was the first joint project completed by the partnership. The wind farm started supplying power to the wholesale electricity and capacity market of Russia in January 2019. Earlier, the partners announced their plans to build wind generation in Rostov and Saratov Regions, Republic of Kalmykia and Stavropol Krai.

Recently, Fortum was awarded a prize in MediaTek, a national contest for communications and media in the energy sector, for building awareness for renewable energy development in Russia.