Russian hydro power group Hydro OGK has agreed a deal that will push ahead the 2.5GW Timpton cascade scheme and is advancing with work on the Kashhatau scheme.
Hydro OGK is taking a 25.1% stake in the industrial venture that is developing a series of projects to be powered by hydro projects on the Timpton river in the Yakutia region of eastern Siberia.
The new venture – The Development Corporation of South Yakutia – is due to be established before the end of April. The venture was established with the agreement of the Yakutia government and will be applying for investment funding in May.
Hydro OGK is already involved in another major venture with a major industrial parter , aluminium producer Rusal, to develop a hydro power scheme – the 3GW Boguchanskaya project on the river Angara in Siberia. The partners recently signed a bridging loan for US$520M to help complete the scheme, which is due to see the first units commissioned in two years.
Construction of the Boguchanskaya project began in 1980 but stalled due to funding problems, only being revived by the restructuring of the country’s electricity industry under the unified command of the RAO UES holding group.
Hydro OGK is also advancing work on the 65MW Kashhatau project. Completion is scheduled for 2008. The project is being built upstream of the 120MW Aushigerskaya hydro plant, part of the Chereksk cascade, opened in 2002.