The groundbreaking ceremony took place in presence of the Russian Federation Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, the President of the Republic of Bashkortostan Rustem Khamitov, the Chairman of the RusHydro Management Board Evgeny Dod and the President of the alstom Renewable Power Sector Jérôme Pécresse.
In 2011, Alstom and RusHydro established a joint venture ‘Alstom RusHydro Energy’ for the implementation of this project, with a 50-50 shareholding. Under the terms of the JV, Alstom will implement best practices in operational management and provide know-how for manufacturing JV equipment along with follow-up support. A license agreement for technology transfer was signed in March of this year for this purpose. The next steps will concern construction, equipment supply, staff recruitment and training in the Republic of Bashkortostan.
According to preliminary estimates, the start of hydro equipment production in Ufa is planned for the end of 2013. The joint venture will produce equipment for small hydropower plants with output of up to 25MW, medium-output hydropower plants up to 100MW, pumped storage plants with output of up to 150MW and auxiliary equipment.
The plant is the first and primary project of a multipurpose industrial park being built in Bashkortostan, in order to form a scientific and manufacturing hub, with production and R&D companies, and thus develop various local small and medium-size businesses in the Republic. One of the project’s main tasks is to localize hydropower equipment manufacturing and develop a network of trusted, competitive suppliers in the Russian Federation.
In December 2010, Alstom and RusHydro signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement which covers four key directions of cooperation: reconstruction and modernization of the Kubanski cascade hydropower complex in Southern Russia; cooperation for the development of hydropower activities; cooperation in areas of R&D and investment; and local manufacturing of hydropower equipment in the Republic of Bashkortostan. In November 2011, both companies extended their cooperation to thermal power generation for the modernisation and repowering of power equipment installed on the generation assets of ‘RAO Energy System of East’, a holding company owned by RusHydro.
