Vestas has just sold its first wind turbine to Ukraine, its 67th global market. Windkraft Ukraine (Vindkraft Ukraina) installed the V112 3.0 MW turbine at the Novorossiske project in the Khersonskiy region in southern Ukraine, near the Black Sea.
Windkraft Ukraine is determined to develop a project portfolio of wind power plants in Khersonskiy to contribute to the overall growth of renewable and green energy production in Ukraine.
On November 17, 2011 during an open meeting of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission of Ukraine the company Windkraft Ukraine was granted a license for energy production. The order with Vestas consists of the supply, installation and commissioning of the V112. A service agreement is being negotiated. The turbine has been installed and is being commissioned, with start-up of full operations expected this month (December 2011).
“We have partnered up with Vestas because of their leadership in the wind energy business and our belief that they have the necessary technology, experience, reliability and overall strength that it takes to develop a new market like Ukraine,” says Vindkraft’s Managing Partner, Fredrik Svinhufvud. “We set the goal of being one of the first private wind farm operators in Ukraine in order to demonstrate that this technology has a bright future here. With Vestas as a partner, we were able to do this with full confidence in the business case for our project and hopefully also for our future projects.”
“It is a pleasure to announce that we have entered into yet another new market,” says Hans Jörn Rieks, President of Vestas Central Europe (photo above). “Ukraine has excellent wind resources for development and Vestas is very satisfied to have found in Vindkraft an excellent customer to be part of the development of Ukraine’s wind energy sector.”
Anatoliy Vlasenko, director of Windkraft Ukraine, says eight more wind turbines of the same class are planned for installation next year on the territories between villages of Novorossiyskoe and Lazurnoe in Khersonskiy region. He said that the this first wind turbine was financed by investors themselves but in future they are considering the possibility of attracting credits from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and other banks.
Vindkraft’s managing partner, Fredrik Svinhufvud said: “We set the goal of being one of the first private wind-farm operators in Ukraine in order to demonstrate that this technology has a bright future here.”
Vestas is not the first manufacturer to seal a turbine deal in the Ukraine. Furhlander is developing the 25MW Novoazovskiy project in the Donetsk region near the Azov Sea. Novoazovskiy is the first Ukrainian project to use MW-class turbines. Fuhrlander is also planning to build a factory in the country.
Ukraine is one of the more promising wind markets of the world. Law on “green” tariff adopted in 2009 and other similar incentives aimed at promoting and stimulating renewable energy development in the country have begun to bear fruit in the commissioning new wind and solar power plants with advanced international technology and equipment. In October leading wind turbine manufacturers such as Vestas, Fuhrlander, Alstom Wind, GE and Gold attended a conference in the Ukraine along with bankers, lawyers and experts to share knowledge and views. The main theme discussed was the barriers to successful wind project development implementation
The annual Ukranian Energy Forum conference will be held in Kiev in February 2012. The Forum will cover the whole spectrum of the energy sector in Ukraine, including oil & gas exploration and production; gas production and supply; power generation and distribution; nuclear and coal production; energy efficiency; opportunities in unconventional gas, including shale and coal bed methane; renewable energy, as well as such issues as geopolitical considerations, energy transit, legislative requirements, tenders and licensing, the availability of financing and much more. However, as Ukraine is rapidly establishing itself as a regional leader in renewable energy, most notably wind and solar, it is hoped renewable energy will be high on the agenda.
An important wind power project in Donetsk Region of the Ukraine was launched recently. Scheduled for completion in 2015, the project comprises 23 wind power plants in total of which three, each with a capacity of 2.5 MW, are now complete.
Ukraine currently uses only 0.2% of its wind capacity. It is hoped that the Donetsk project will become a pilot for other green energy solutions in Ukraine. The Ukrainian energy strategy foresees the increase of alternative energy generation of up to 6%. According to industry experts, the wind energy would be sufficient for providing 20% of electricity used by Ukrainians. Given that the Ukraine imports 60% of its energy needs, an increase in the wind generated energy will help the country become more self-sufficient.
Though Ukraine is a little behind EU countries with respect to the wind power generated so far, it has made a huge progress in terms of installed wind power capacity, emerging ahead of Russia, Iceland and Switzerland, 2010 European statistics of the European Wind Energy Association revealed.
Finally, Fuhrlander has announced plans to manufacture wind turbines for the Ukrainian market at the Kramatorsky Heavy Machine Factory, in the east of the country.
According to Fuhrlander, there are plans to produce 2-3 turbines by the end of 2011 year. The projected volume for 2012 is about 40 turbines. The first wind turbines, with a capacity of 2.5 MW each, are expected to be produced from German parts. Starting from 2012 the company plans to use locally-made components, which will probably be supplied from plants located in nearby Lutsk. Fuhrlander is the second global manufacturer to announce plans to start production in Ukraine. In June 2011, Vestas announced it would produce towers for wind turbines at the Yuzhmash plant.
