Nov 23 2010
Russia’s State nuclear corporation, Rosatom, is planning to enter into the wind power segment. It is trying to locate foreign partners to assist in the construction of wind farms in Eastern Europe, Ukraine and the Balkans. According to the Chief Executive of Atomenergomash, Rosatom’s equipment unit, Vladimir Kashenko, the company was on the lookout for technological partners. He commented that all the pioneers and giants of the wind power technology sector were eager to participate in the Russian wind energy market.
At present, Russia has almost nil wind energy turbines, and the only source of power was its huge reserves of gas and oil. However the Government has stated that around 4.5% of power must come from renewable resources by 2020. Currently only 1% of the total energy generated is from renewable energy resources as compared to the 4.5% target set by the Government, and the 20% target set by the European Union.
Kashenko also mentioned that it was not practical to expect the complete production of the wind turbines to take place within Russia, and hopes that as the market is voluminous other players would also evince interest in these projects.
Initially erection of wind energy farms in and around seven nuclear power stations from 2012 has been planned. Later on the focus would shift to Ukraine and Eastern Europe regions. Kashenko states that the Ukraine region with its rich resources of alternative energy, and other Russian friendly countries such as Bulgaria, Turkey, and Czech Republic, would also be possible sites for these renewable energy projects.