Production of Wind Turbine Blades Launched in Ulyanovsk Region
Equipment for production of blades for wind turbines was launched at Vestas plant in Ulyanovsk region. Governor Sergey Morozov, Senior Vice President of Vestas A/S Tommy Rabek Nielsen and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Denmark to Russia Karsten Sendergord took part in the ceremony.
Production of composite blades for wind turbines is unique for the Russian Federation. Rusnano and the Consortium of Investors of Ulyanovsk Region were the project’s partners. Estimated capacity of power equipment is 3.6 MW, and it may potentially be increased to 4.2 MW. The volume of investment exceeded one billion roubles. By 2021, the annual output is projected to reach 500 blades for wind turbines.
In his speech at the opening ceremony, Sergey Morozov noted that Ulyanovsk region became the pioneer in the Russian wind power industry.
“Technological equipment which is unique for Russia was launched at the country’s only plant for production of wind power blades in Ulyanovsk Region today. We launched the first wholesale wind farm for the Finnish company Fortum and we started building the second one; now we can observe the process of localizing the production of components for the industry,” Sergey Morozov said.
Tommy Rabek Nielsen, Senior Vice President of Vestas A/S, emphasized the importance of building the production in Ulyanovsk that would be competitive not only in Russia, but abroad as well. According to Mr. Rabek Nielsen, such energy source as the wind is “competitive in and of itself”:
“We are going to engage the local partners in Russia, as we do in other countries: the suppliers that can provide us with everything we need. It is also important for us to contribute not only to the launch of production, but also to ‘raising’ new personnel in Ulyanovsk region so that new knowledge and new competence emerge here,” he said.
In addition to the industrial site setup, training of qualified specialists is also in progress. The department focused on wind power works on the basis of the State Technical University. Besides that, a training centre was created within the nanocentre where Vestas trains its staff. The company will create over 200 high-tech jobs by the end of the year; 152 are currently employed.
