Moscow, 24 February 2005. Today, a ceremony was held to start the construction of a new power plant of RAO "UES of Russia", OAO "Ivanovskie CCGTs". The ceremony was be attended by the Chairman of the Management Board Anatoly Chubais, the Ivanovo Region Governor Vladimir Tikhonov, the Yaroslavl Region Governor Anatoly Lisitsyn, the CEO of FGUP "Technopromexport" Sergey Molozhavy, the Director General of OAO "Power Machines" Evgeny Yakovlev, and the Director General of NPO "Saturn" Yury Lastochkin.

The project provides for the construction of two combined-cycle turbines, PGU-325, with the aggregate capacity of 701.7 MW, including package equipment supply. The first unit of the new power plant with the installed capacity of 354.1 MW of electricity and 27.5 Gcal/h of heat is scheduled to be completed in 2007.

The Ivanovskie CCGTs is among the top priority construction projects in the electricity industry financed under the investment programme of RAO "UES of Russia". In 2005, RUB3,839 million in funds will be allocated on the construction of the power plant. The total amount of funds to be invested in the construction of the first generation unit of the power plant is estimated at RUB6.2 billion.

The Ivanovskie CCGTs will be equipped with a combined-cycle gas turbine designed by Russia's major power engineering companies—NPO "Saturn", OAO "Power Machines", and OAO "ZIOMAR". Power Machines will make one steam turbine and three generators for the PGU-325 unit, and OAO "ZIOMAR" will manufacture two boilers. The core of the combined-cycle generating unit is the GTE-110 turbine designed by NPO "Saturn". As a result of the public tender held by RAO "UES of Russia", FGUP "Technopromexport" was selected as the General Contractor for the project.

The PGU-325 of OAO "Ivanovskie CCGTs" compares well in terms of performance with similar foreign-made equipment. The Russian-made combined-cycle gas turbine will help increase efficiency to 51%, compared with 35-38% of the existing steam power units, and save up to 30% of natural gas. Moreover, the power plant's nitrogen oxide emission level is 50 mg/mm3, which is twice as low as that of other gas-fuelled power plants. Owing to the compact size of the combined-cycle unit, the construction period may be shortened by 30%.

It is expected that PGU-325 will be installed instead of the obsolete turbines at the steam power plants of RAO "UES of Russia" in the near future. According to RAO UES experts, 20 cogeneration plants will need 103 new combined-cycle turbine units. The development of the Russian energy sector based on its own scientific and technological potential will help dramatically boost the efficiency of the energy industry and create favourable conditions for curbing electricity price rise.