Russia has just turned on its largest wind farm. And he has done it with parts manufactured almost entirely at home

Russia has launched its most powerful wind farm to date. The Novolakskaya plant, located in the republic of Dagestan, has reached its maximum capacity of 300 MW after the start-up of its second phase, thus becoming the largest wind energy installation ever built in the country. Below these lines we tell you all the details.

Why is it important. Dagestan has had supply problems for years electricity, with frequent outages that affect both homes and businesses in the region. In this way, the entry into service of this plant puts an end to this chronic deficit, since the plant will cover about 9% of electricity consumption of the republic, according to data from the Russian Ministry of Energy.

Figures. The park is made up of 120 wind turbines of 2.5 MW eachdivided into two construction phases (152.5 MW in the first and 147.5 MW in the second). They are large machines, as each turbine reaches a height similar to that of a 50-story building and weighs more than 320 tons. The project, promoted by the renewable energy division of the state corporation Rosatom, has been completed in less than two years and is expected to generate an average of 879 million kilowatt-hours per year, enough electricity to supply some 240,000 homes.

Between the lines. Beyond these figures, there is one detail that Rosatom especially highlights. And it is the level of components manufactured on Russian territory. Grigory Nazarov, CEO of Rosatom Renewable Energy, stood out This is the company’s tenth wind plant and the first with a “localization record” of equipment, that is, with the vast majority of its parts (turbines, nacelles, generators and blades) produced by companies of the Rosatom group itself. This fits with Russia’s strategy of reducing its technological dependence on foreign countries in the midst of international sanctions.

For his part, the Russian Deputy Minister of Energy, Piotr Koniushenko, pointed out that the promotion of renewable energies “constitutes one of the country’s strategic lines to reinforce the stability of its energy system,” according to they collect from TeleSURTV.

And now what. The impact of the plant is not limited to electricity generation. And its construction has brought with it new access roads, substations and transmission lines, as well as jobs and greater tax revenue for the region, according to explained the interim leader of Dagestan, Fyodor Shchukin, who has defined the plant as “proof that the republic is prepared to execute large-scale technological projects.”

The Novolakskaya project will not be the last. And Rosatom already has agreed more than 1.3 gigawatts of wind power distributed across ten plants, and its plan is to reach 2 GW of installed capacity by 2028, which would make it one of the major players in the renewable market in Russia.

Cover image | Atom Media

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