MOSCOW, February 17. /TASS/. The Russian energy market is likely to focus on building new capacities or upgrading existing stations with domestic solutions, rather than attempting complex and uncertain repairs of foreign turbines, Director General of UEC Engineering (part of Rostec) Andrey Vorobyov told reporters.
"There is a pressing need for a reliable technological partner able to produce components for foreign engines, such as turbine blades, wheels, combustion chambers, and injectors. However, this process is currently fragmented because operating plants use a wide range of equipment. Customers are not always consistent when choosing suppliers, which results in the use of a variety of different models," he said.
Meanwhile low demand for turbine repairs makes it difficult for United Engine Corporation (UEC) as a technological partner to organize serial production. What's more, it is too risky to experiment with repairs without having proper experience and equipment. Instead, UEC Engineering sees greater potential in upgrading stations, replacing foreign gas turbine engines with domestically-made engines, Vorobyov said.
"It may cost around 2 bln rubles to repair a 25 MW engine whereas we, for example, can offer a comprehensive reconstruction at a significantly lower price. If you compare those figures, it becomes obvious that it is far easier and more cost-efficient to offer a standard solution for replacing an engine instead of repairing a system that will be impossible to test due to a lack of testing grounds. We focus on standardizing solutions and developing technologies at the level of serial production, rather than making prototypes, as the development of new equipment at the stage of R&D activities is becoming much more expensive. Serial production makes it possible to guarantee high quality for the best price and efficient work at all stages of the equipment life cycle," he noted.
"I believe that the market will move toward building new alternative capacities or renovating existing ones, postponing complicated repairs of imported turbines, as this approach is more feasible in the long run. Considering the high readiness of our capacities for production of all components of gas turbine engines, we are ready to act as a technological partner in manufacturing replacement parts for foreign engines. This is a challenging and multifaceted reengineering process, which requires not only organization of the production of necessary parts, but also, what is much more important, conformity of those components with specifications stated in serial production," Vorobyov concluded.