Rosatom announced on March 4, 2024, the commissioning of the second stage of the Trunovskaya Wind Power Plant in Stavropolsky Krai, adding 35 MW to Russia’s renewable energy capacity. This achievement brings Rosatom’s total installed wind power capacity to over 1 GW, emphasizing its commitment to technological sovereignty and sustainable development. The Trunovskaya wind farm, now with a total capacity of 95 MW from 38 wind turbines, underscores Stavropolsky Krai’s growing role in green energy and Rosatom’s leadership in Russia’s wind power development.

Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev, speaking in the State Duma on February 28, 2024, revealed discussions with Lukoil among others for constructing small nuclear power plants to power various projects.

Over the past five years, the Russian electricity retailing market has recorded moderate growth but experienced a significant slowdown in 2020. However, the market recovered with strong growth in 2021, and this growth is expected to accelerate further in 2022 and beyond.

The market had total revenues of $28.1 billion in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8% between 2016 and 2021.

The slowdown in growth in 2020 was mainly due to the recessionary impacts of COVID-19, including lockdown measures and social distancing regulations that reduced business activity. On the supply side, the fall in Russia’s gas and oil production was the largest of any single country in 2020, according to BP. Additionally, exports fell by 11% due to lower worldwide demand.

Four wind turbine farms in the Stavropol region are to be connected to the grid by the end of 2021, according to plans by the regional Energy Ministry announced on October 5, 2020. These include the Kochubeyevskaya wind farm with an output of 210 MW in the Kochubeyevsky district, the Bondarevskaya wind farm with an output of 120 MW in the Ipatovsky district, the Karmalinovskaya wind farm with an output of 60 MW in the Novoalexandrovsky district, and the Medvezhinskaya wind farm with an output of 60 MW in the Trunovsky district.

NovaWind, a wind energy subsidiary of the state-owned Rosatom Group, will implement the projects.

A modernized hydropower plant no. 4 with a modernized hydro generator was put into operation at the Cheboksarskaya power plant, RusHydro reported on October 5, 2020. As part of RusHydro’s comprehensive modernization program (PCM), nine of the station’s 18 generators have already been modernized.

As part of the upgrade, a new generator stator from the Russian Power Machines Group was installed, which improved performance. The automatic control of the hydraulic unit has also been improved and the hydraulic turbine overhauled. Specialists from RusHydro’s subsidiary, JSC Gidroremont-VKK carried out the installation.

The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation proposes modifying the selection procedure for projects under the Renewable Energy Program in the period of years from 2025 to 2035, in the amount of 400 billion rubles, as stated in the Russian government’s draft resolution of October 2, 2020.

The Ministry considers it necessary to depart from its prior practice of considering projects in terms of unit capital costs to evaluating the minimum price per kilowatt hour (including investment and operating costs). Under the new rules, the first selection round could take place in early 2021.

The Russian energy holding company Inter RAO is reportedly planning to invest 580 million dollars in a gas turbine joint venture with General Electric, which the company announced on October 1, 2020.

Reuters reported that the investment comes at a time when Western gas turbine manufacturers are investing in the country as it plans to modernize a quarter of its thermal power plant capacity.

No Russian company is currently engaged in the production of medium or large capacity gas turbines. The Russian government, however, wants such turbines to be produced locally.

The move opens up new opportunities for Western turbine manufacturers, as demand for such turbines has recently declined on world markets.

PJSC Inter RAO announced financial results for the nine months of 2019 prepared according to the Russian Accounting Standards (RAS). The revenue of PJSC Inter RAO for the first nine months of 2019 amounted to 40.0 billion rubles, up 4.8 billion rubles (13.7 percent) as compared to the first nine months of 2018. Power export revenues totaled 33.6 billion rubles, up 8.9 billion rubles (35.9 percent) in comparison with the corresponding period of the previous year. This change is primarily attributed to an increase in electricity exports and the selling price to Lithuania and Finland.

The revenue from WECM (wholesale electricity and capacity market) electricity and capacity sales decreased by 4.1 billion rubles (39.9 percent), amounting to 6.2 billion rubles in the first nine months of 2019. This decrease in revenue on the wholesale market for electricity and capacity is related to the absence of commercial electricity imports from Kazakhstan.

RusHydro announces 9M 2019 IFRS results.

On December 12, 2019, the RusHydro group announced its condensed consolidated interim unaudited financial information prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for the third quarter and the initial nine months of 2019.

Q3 & 9M 2019 key highlights

Total revenue in the first nine months of 2019 was flat to the first nine months of 2018 and came in at RUB287,620 million (minus 0.4 percent). In the third quarter of 2019, total revenue was RUB87,486 (plus 0.1 percent).

The EBITDA in the first nine months of 2019 was RUB70,429 million (minus 13.1 percent year-on-year); in the third quarter of 2019, it reached RUB19,659 million (minus 6.7 percent year-on-year).

From January 15 to 16, 2019, a delegation comprised of the representatives of TENEX and its subsidiary TENAM Corporation participated in the Nuclear Fuel Supply Forum in Washington. The event was organized by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).

At the seminar, particular emphasis was placed on the U.S.-based uranium mining companies’ endeavors to secure the protection from foreign imports of uranium into the country, as well as the prospects of future development. Negotiations with business partners dedicated to the issues of medium-term and long-term partnership took place.

NEI is a U.S.-based association of nuclear industry organizations founded in 1994. NEI’s members include major players of the U.S. nuclear market, as well as most of the international companies participating in the global nuclear fuel cycle products market. TENEX is a member of NEI since 2008.

The leading equipment manufacturers and suppliers of power generation equipment intend to take part at Heat & Power expo from October 22 to 24, 2019. Participants will include such companies as AB Group, Aprovis, Bertuzzi Implanti, Gmgen Power Systems, MTU Onsite Energy, Liebherr, Man, Mas Energy, MT Group, MWM, Riello Ups, RS Motor, Vorotinsky Power Generation Plant, and more.

The power industry becomes more important with production growth, mechanization, and automation, as envisioned by the development plan for the national economy. One of the most critical parts of the enterprises’ power facilities are industrial power generators, a large number of which are directly connected with district power stations and power systems. Industrial power generators used in various industries are alternative sources of heat and electric energy.

Spanish company Windar Renovables has brought the manufacturing of wind turbine towers to Russia, where a plant run by WRS Towers, a partnership which includes the Russian groups Rusnano MC and Severstal PSJC and is led by the Spanish company, will soon begin operations.

It is the first production center for this type of equipment to be established in the country, where an ambitious land farm installation program is to begin immediately. The factory, which is located in Taganrog in Rostov, was opened by the governor of the region Vasily Golubey, who was accompanied by the Deputy Minister for Industry, Vasily Osmakov. Both were received by the president of Rusnano MC Anatoly Chubais, the managing director of Severstal Alexander Shevelev, and the executive president of Windar Renovables Orlando Alonso.

On April 6, 2018, Russia’s biggest company in electricity transmission and distribution Rosseti announced its IFRS consolidated financial results for the Rosseti group of companies for 2017.

The group’s consolidated revenues in 2017 came to RUB948.3 billion, a figure reflecting a 5.3-percent increase on 2016. The net profit rose almost 40 percent to RUB137.1 billion year-on-year. The group’s profitability reached 14.5 percent, a 3.6-percentage-point increase over 2016.

On April 19, 2018, Dmitry Medvedev held a meeting on creating a digital network in Russia by the year 2030. Launched in pursuance of the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s initiative to have the country’s power industry transition to digital operations, the network is expected to function with the use of domestically-produced equipment and technologies. In order to implement this initiative, the government envisions establishing joint ventures between the Rostec state corporation and Rosseti with the goal of developing a smart power grid complex. Dmitry Medvedev instructed the relevant ministries and departments, as well as the appropriate stakeholders, to work out the details regarding the size of Rostec’s investment in Rosseti for implementing this project.