JSC RusHydro has agreed deals with China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) and Power Construction Corporation of China, Ltd (PowerChina) for the development of flood-control hydropower and pumped storage projects in Russia.
The company has signed a preliminary agreement with CTG which will see the firms set up a JV (51% owned by RusHydro) to develop four reservoir-based flood-control hydropower projects in Russia’s Amur Oblast and Khabarovskiy Kray – Nizhne-Zeyskaya (400MW), Selemdzhinskaya (300MW), Giluyskaya (462 MW) and Nizhne-Nimanskaya (600 MW) plants
The partners plan to raise at least 70% of required funds as project financing from primarily Chinese and Russian institutions backed by long-term power purchase agreements. As per the agreement, CTG will be responsible for negotiating the electricity off-take contracts with its Chinese counterparts.
RusHydro will prepare and provide detailed feasibility studies of each project, with the JV’s management and Board of Directors evaluating the projects based on their economic feasibility and potential for electricity export.
In a separate deal, RusHydro has agreed to cooperate with PowerChina in the development of the 1560MW Leningradskaya pumped storage plant, with opportunities for further pumped storage development in Russia and abroad.
RusHydro will again hold a 51% stake in a JV company that will oversee development, with PowerChina holding the remaining 49%. The partners have also agreed that PowerChina can partner with other Chinese companies to create a consortium.
News of these agreements follow’s RusHydro’s recent three-year deal with Siemens LLC Russia that will see the firms cooperate in the development of hydro and other renewables in Russia and abroad.
