On the 7th of September Governor Sergey Morozov, the head of the region, Sergey Vasin, CEO of the Ulyanovsk Region Development Corporation and representatives of the Danish company Vestas Wind Systems A / S Mr. Tommy Rabek Nielsen and Mr. David Rowen signed an investment agreement for construction of a wind turbine blade factory in the Ulyanovsk region. The time of signing coincided with the conference "Investor Requirements -Government Actions".
The project’s intent is to establish wind turbine component production, particularly related to wind turbine blades production with the possibility of future development.
Danish company Vestas is a global partner in the energy industry for sustainable energy solutions. Vestas design, manufacture, install, and service wind turbines across the globe. The total output of company’s wind turbines across 75 countries is85 GW. Vestas’s more than 22,500 employees are bringing the world sustainable energy solutions to power a brighter future.
“Nowadays “Green Energy” projects are a top-priority not only in the region but in the country as a whole. We became the first region in Russia where the wind farm construction started. And now we will be the first who will launch component production. Today together with wind turbine manufacturer Vestas we have signed the agreement. We are already planning a grand-scale cooperation, construction of new wind farms in the region with the use of locally produced components. Moreover, the international company will create here about 200 high technology jobs, where young Ulyanovsk university graduates will work”, said Sergey Morozov.
In April 2017 the Fortum company and RUSNANO chose Vestas as their partner and wind turbine supplier for wind farms in Russia. One of the main conditions for the selection of a supplier was possibility for the localization program of equipment production in Russia on the level of 65% by 2019.
“Vestas will follow localization requirements, and if we understand that Russia has enough suppliers, the localization will be extended. The main challenge for us is the development of the wind industry market in Russia and attraction of Russian suppliers,” – noted David Rowen.
Apart from participation in the wind farm construction project in cooperation with the Fortum company, RUSNANO has the role of key coordinator and co-investor in localization projects and desires to contribute about 1 B Rubles as self-investment for such projects. It is planned to implement the projects jointly with Vestas and OEM partners alongside Russian Technology partners. The investments will be contributed for creation of wind turbine components and assemblies: blades, towers and other parts. The above-mentioned products will be produced by the aid of nanotechnology. The project implementation will have a positive effect on such allied industries as metallurgy, material science, power engineering, construction, engineering, service, and will allow Russian companies to enter global supplier chains and realize export potential.
“It is a significant event for us, our region and partners. Vestas as a huge corporation is so strong that it attracts suppliers from all over the world. A large number of companies are interested in being present on our platform and producing their products. We together with RUSNANO and other partners have been involved in the project for several years. Ulyanovsk Nanocenter as an initiator of wind energy development in the region managed to attract an investor, Fortum company, for construction of a wholesale wind park in the Ulyanovsk region, first in Russia. In cooperation with Fortum we performed wind monitoring in the region and started implementation of the project for localization of wind turbine component production. Eventually Ulyanovsk will have a blade production factory, first in Russia. It will be constructed and launched in cooperation with the global partner, leader in the wind turbine production. We understand that over the next few years the industry will require a large number of qualified employees, so in the summer we jointly with the Ulyanovsk State Technology University established the “Wind Energy Technologies” department on our base aimed at their preparation.”- CEO of ULNANOTECH Andrey Redkin said.
“It is significant that specifically in our region the first wind turbine blade production will appear. Through it, we continue the implementation of the program for creation of a wind turbine production cluster. We are doing our best to win the technology leadership in this area via creating partnerships between Ulyanovsk companies and international companies. In particular, this project is being developed with participation of the DARS Group of Companies, a daughter company of the Ulyanovsk Region Development Corporation and RUSNANO,” – said Sergey Vasin.
Source: Ulyanovsk Region Government.
