Three small hydropower plants to be developed by RusHydro in the North Caucasus region will be covered by 15-year capacity supply agreements after they were selected for implementation in a recent auction.
The plants - with a combined capacity of 20.64MW - were selected through a competitive tender covering renewable energy capacity. The projects supply agreements will have a basic annual return of 14%, RusHydro said in a statement.
All three projects will be commissioned in 2017 and are located in the Stavropol region and Karachay-Cherkessia Republic.
The 10MW Sengileevskaya plant will be built near the existing 15MW Sengileevskaya hydropower project, and will provide generation increase while also helping to reduce silting in the Sengileevskaya water reservoir, the main source of water supply for the city of Stavropol.
The 5.04MW Barsuchkovskaya project will be built on the tailrace of the regulating water reservoir of hydropower plant no 4, Kuban' Cascade, and will use excess water when the Nevinnomysskaya CHP plant switches to closed-cycle water supply.
The 5.6MW Ust-Dzhegutinskaya plant will be built on the Ust-Dzhegutinskiy Hydrotechnical Complex, which serves as intake to the Large Stavropol canal. The small hydro plant will be using sterile spills into the tailrace.
In line with the tender requirements, RusHydro said capital expenditures per 1 kW of installed capacity will be RUB 146,000, ensuring the projects' profitability.
The construction of small hydro plants in the North Caucasus region is considered high priority due to a shortage of generation capacity and favourable natural conditions for such projects.
