Irkutskenergo : The third rotor wheel is delivered to the Ust-Ilimskaya HPP

Ust-Ilimsk, May 2, 2017 - A new rotor wheel has been delivered to the Ust-Ilimskaya HPP as part of the comprehensive New Energy program aimed at upgrading EuroSibEnergo's hydroelectric power plants. This is the third hydroelectric unit to be replaced at the fourth most powerful hydroelectric power plant in Russia.

The rotor wheel weights 86 tons and is 5.7 meters in diameter. It took almost a month to transport the rotor wheel from the plant in Saint Petersburg to Ust-Ilimsk. The rotor wheel was transported across Russia over a distance of about 7,000 kilometers using special motor vehicles.

Installation of the new rotor wheel will take three months; the upgraded hydroelectric unit is scheduled to be put into commercial operation in June 2017. The turbine's maximum efficiency will increase by 5.5% and reach 96.7%, which is one of the highest levels in the Russian hydropower industry. This will enable the Ust-Ilimskaya HPP to increase clean power generation with the same volume of water passing through the turbines.

Replacement of rotor wheels at the Ust-Ilimskaya HPP started in April 2016, when the first rotor wheel was delivered to the HPP. Later, in June, the first upgraded hydroelectric unit was put into operation. Overall, from 2016 through 2018, four rotor wheels will be replaced at the HPP as part of the New Energy program.

The New Energy comprehensive HPP upgrade program of EuroSibEnergo involves large-scale overhauls and replacement of main equipment at the Company's three largest HPPs in Siberia: the Krasnoyarskaya, Bratskaya and Ust-Ilimskaya HPPs. This will include upgrades of hydroelectric units and replacement of rotor wheels, transformers and outdoor switchgears at the HPPs. EuroSibEnergo has invested RUB 15 bln in the program. In the course of HPP upgrades, the company uses primarily domestically produced equipment.

Following the completion of the first stage of the New Energy program, by 2018 EuroSibEnergo's HPPs in Siberia will increase environmentally friendly electricity generation by 1.5 TWh per year, while water consumption will remain unchanged. The impact of upgrading existing HPPs is comparable to construction of a new 400 MW HPP in Siberia. This will enable partial replacement of coal-fired generation with hydropower, saving up to 800,000 tons of coal per year and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants by 2 mln tons per year, which will have a positive impact on the environment in various regions of Siberia.

Vyacheslav Solomin, CEO of JSC EuroSibEnergo:

'The New Energy program will enable more efficient use of Siberia's hydropower resources; it will help improve the reliability of our hydroelectric power plants and meet the demand of the economy for clean energy.'

Press service of JSC EuroSibEnergo

Reference

The Ust-Ilimskaya HPP on the Angara River is the fourth largest hydroelectric power plant in Russia (with a capacity of 3,840 MW). At present, 16 hydroelectric units are in operation at the Ust-Ilimskaya HPP.

About the company:

JSC EuroSibEnergo (www.eurosib.ru) is Russia's largest private power company and one of the country's leaders in green power generation. EuroSibEnergo operates power plants with a total installed capacity of 19.7 GW, including major HPPs forming part of the Angara-Yenisei HPP Cascade (the Krasnoyarskaya, Bratskaya, Ust-Ilimskaya and Irkutskaya HPPs) with a total capacity exceeding 15 GW. EuroSibEnergo accounts for about 8% of Russia's electricity production. The Company forms part of En+ Group, a leading Russia-based industrial group. In December 2015, EuroSibEnergo put into operation the Abakanskaya solar power plant, which is one of Siberia's largest power plants.

May 02, 2017