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Czech fund to build wind plants in Russia — sources

MOSCOW, June 16. /ITAR-TASS/. Alten, a unit of Czech fund Falcon Capital, was the only bidder at Russia's tenders for the construction of wind power plants, Kommersant business daily reported Monday, citing three industry sources.

Power market regulator Sovet Rynka said on June 11 that it had chosen wind power projects with a capacity of 51 megawatts (MW) scheduled for launch in 2015. Winners of these tenders will get capacity supply agreements guaranteeing an investment return during 15 years with an annual yield of 14%.

Falcon Capital could not be reached for comment.

Sovet Rynka held tenders for a total of 1.6 gigawatts (GW) of wind power facilities in 2015-2018, but other investors probably did not participate because of strict requirements for localization of equipment production - 55% in 2015 and 65% in 2016-2018, Kommersant said.

Blades, which are the main component of wind power plants, are not produced in Russia, while production of other elements wouldn't be sufficient to meet the localization requirements, Sergei Tulyakov, CEO of Atomenergomash's unit VetroOGK, told the daily. Foreign blade producers are interested in the Russian market, but need time to launch production, he said. This production is economically feasible if the annual launch of wind power facilities is at least 2 GW, but the available volume of capacities at tenders until 2018 is less, he said. Spain's Gamesa and the US' General Electric are the closest to launch production in Russia, Tulyakov said.

Sovet Rynka also chose 505 MW of solar power projects for 2015-2018, with bids filed for a total of 785 MW. Under tender conditions, bidders must produce at least 50% of necessary equipment in Russia in 2015 and at least 70% in 2016-2018.

Solar Systems, a unit of China's Amur Sirius, received around 175 MW of solar projects at the tenders and is considering building the plants in Russia's Samara, Volgograd, and Stavropol regions, CEO Mikhail Molchanov said. The company also plans to launch a Russian plant for the production of polysilicon panels with an annual capacity of at least 100 MW by 2016.

Energiya Solntsa received projects to build 165 MW of solar power capacities at the tenders, Viktor Antonov, director for the group development, has calculated. Avelar Energy Group, a unit of businessman Viktor Vekselberg's Renova Group, received projects to build 155 MW of solar capacities, with bids filed for a total of 190 MW.

Hydropower giant RusHydro received projects to build 20 MW of small hydropower capacities in 2017, while 415 MW were available at tenders for 2015-2018. RusHydro's bid was small, as Russian large traditional power generating companies do not believe in a stable state policy on the power market and guarantees of investment return, Renaissance Capital analyst Vladimir Sklyar said.