Wind turbine plant to open in Togliatti at cost of 4.5 bln rubles

SAMARA. June 10 (Interfax) - A plant to build domestic large capacity wind turbines will be opened in the Togliatti special economic zone (SEZ) in Russia's Samara Region, the regional government's press service reported.

Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov, Samara Region acting Governor Vyacheslav Fedorischev and CEO of Forward Energo , Vyacheslav Kozhevnikov signed a special investment contract (SPIC) for the project at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Forward Energo, formerly PJSC Fortum, the Russian division of Finnish energy company Fortum, is under the management of the Federal Property Agency.

The project will localize production of high-tech large capacity wind turbines, the latest solution in wind power, in Russia, the press release said.

Under the SPIC, the company will localize the latest technologies for manufacturing the main components of wind turbines: blades, hubs, gondolas, generators, towers and automated control systems. There are plans to bring in Russian companies through sectoral cooperation for a number of elements.

Investment in the project is expected to total at least 4.5 billion rubles and it is projected to create 400 jobs.

The "importance of mastering and localizing wind turbine manufacturing technologies is due to the need to ensure sovereign production of this type of equipment in our country," the press service said.

"Western European manufacturers turned their back on the Russian market in 2022, which jeopardized the implementation of programs to build wind farms in Russia. This could have led to a decrease in the share of green energy in Russia's energy balance and reduced the competiveness of businesses that consume electricity. At present, only a limited number of countries have localized production of multi-megawatt class wind turbines (over 5 MW), and now Russia will join their ranks," Alikhanov said in the press release.