On Power Engineers’ Day “Intertechelectro” summarized the results of the departing year

One of the principal results of the expiring year for the Company has been the construction completion of a 220 MW power unit - the third power unit of Chelyabinsk Cogeneration Plant -3, owned by “Fortum”. The formal ceremony of the power unit commissioning took place last summer. “Intertechelectro” acted as the General Contractor in charge of the facility construction project implementation. The Company technical personnel carried out a comprehensive range of works, related to the power unit engineering, construction and installation, commissioning and outfitting with cutting edge automation equipment. The project provided for the use of the main equipment, made by leading Russian manufacturers: a gas turbine unit, made at the Leningrad Metal Plant, a steam turbine, manufactured at the Kaluga Plant and a waste heat boiler, made at the Podolsk Plant. The power unit commissioning enhanced the reliability of electric power supply to private consumers and industrial enterprises in Chelyabinsk and the Chelyabinsk region, provided additional heating capacities for the construction of new enterprises and residential buildings. The utilization of the combined cycle (gas-steam) technology will substantially improve the cogeneration plant economic performance and reduce its environmental impact. According to Vladimir Babyak, General Director of ITE, the experience, gained during the construction of a high single-unit capacity GTU (220MW), is invaluable to the Company. “Being a western Customer, “Fortum” would set very high requirements to the Plant equipment, in particular, to the automation equipment. It suffices to mention that the personnel of Cogeneration Plant-3 increased by no more than a couple of people, while the Plant installed capacity went up by 30%. Building on this experience we are ready now for the construction of a 450MW GTU”, stated Vladimir Babyak.

The Company proceeds with the implementation of major projects in the Trans-Urals area: in the city of Kurgan and the Kurgan region. The construction of Kurgan Cogeneration Plant-2 with a 222MW capacity is nearing completion. This is the second large power plant, following the commissioned last year Noyabrsk CCPP, that is built outside the scope of the Capacity Delivery Agreements, concluded between the Company and the State Authorities. The plant construction is financed by private investors, involving the Czech Export Bank. OJSC “Gasprom” has provided a gas supply pipeline to the plant. The power distribution scheme is based on a private-public partnership pattern. The state allocated about one billion rubles from the federal and regional budgets for the construction of a heating main to the urban districts. To date the heating main is ready for service and already this winter, if needed, it can begin to deliver heat power to the city. The Company management notes that the project implementation has been greatly facilitated by the regional authorities; fully comprehending the need for new generation sources in the region, they have created a most favorable investment climate and continue to render comprehensive assistance to the project. The main equipment, installed at Kurgan Cogeneration Plant-2, is made by leading foreign manufacturers; it includes a state-of–the-art 6FA gas turbine, made by General Electric (the first gas turbine of its type, ever installed at a Russian facility), a Siemens steam turbine, electrical equipment and automation equipment, made by ABB. Kurgan Cogeneration Plant-2 is the second largest heat provider in the city of Kurgan that will allow to lower the power deficit in the region, strengthen the regional energy security and balance the hydraulic operation modes of the heat network. Currently pre-commissioning activities are in progress at Kurgan Cogeneration Plant-2 to be succeeded by the plant commissioning, scheduled for the first half of 2012. Besides, the project allows for the plant potential capacity extension by adding an extra (the 3rd) power unit.

Apart form the construction of Cogeneration Plant-2 “Intertechelectro” is involved in a comprehensive program for the power supply system modernization in the Kurgan region. The program goal is to increase heat and electric power output in the region and enhance its efficiency due to cogeneration, centralization of the generation sources and implementation of advanced generation technologies, allowing a 30% higher efficiency, as compared to a conventional steam turbine power plant. The program provides for modernization of 700 boiler plants. The larger boiler plants will be converted to cogeneration plants, generating both heat and electric power. In particular, “Intertechelectro” is about to begin the construction of a 25MW gas reciprocating cogeneration plant in Kurgan on the basis of a former boiler plant. The new cogeneration plant will be the third power generation facility in the Kurgan region, following Cogeneration Plant-1 and Cogeneration Plant-2, and will deliver heat power to the western urban districts. Last November the relevant contract on a package delivery of the gas reciprocating equipment was signed with one of the leading global manufacturers.

Another large-scale project, pursued by the Company, is the construction of a state-of–the-art 110MW power unit at the Vologda Cogeneration Plant (Customer: TGK-2). In terms of the equipment configuration the power unit is similar to the one, installed at Kurgan Cogeneration Plant-2: it includes a GE 6FA gas turbine as well. At present the plant installed capacity totals 30MW, therefore the commissioning of a new 110MW power unit will ensure heat and electric power delivery to the entire town of Vologda. To date all the equipment is installed at the site, the power unit commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2012.

Starting with 2012 “Intertechelectro” will investigate possibilities for the construction of alternative power sources in Russia, financed by private investors. In cooperation with its European partners the Company is now involved in a feasibility study, relevant to the construction of a 50MW windpark in the Kurgan region. The requisite wind measurement equipment has already been installed. If the project feasibility is verified, the Kurgan region will be the first one in the Trans-Urals area to provide commercial “green energy” to consumers. “Experience shows that western development trends and know-how eventually come to Russia, even if with a 10-15-year lag, - says Vladimir Babyak. – In our opinion, this country has a high potential for the development of alternative energy sources, in particular, of the wind- and biomass-related technologies. Of course, so far the cost of 1kW in terms of installed capacity, relevant to the renewable energy sources, is twice as high as the cost of the same installed capacity, relevant to a conventional gas-burning power plant. However, in the long-term the costs will pay off, since the gas price goes up with time, while the wind continues to blow free of charge. We would like to be among the first companies that have gained practical experience in the implementation of such a project in Russia”.