Fortum acquires 35 MW of solar power capacity in Russia

Fortum has signed an agreement to acquire three solar power companies from Hevel Group, Russia's largest integrated solar power company. The transaction is expected to be closed by the end of 2017. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

The Pleshanovskaya (10 MW) and Grachevskaya (10 MW) solar power plants are located in the Orenburg region and the Bugulchanskaya (15 MW) solar power plant in the Republic of Bashkortostan. All three power plants are operational and will receive Capacity Supply Agreement (CSA) payments for approximately 15 years after commissioning at an average CSA price corresponding to approximately €430/MWh (US$ 505,55/MWh). The plants were commissioned in 2016 and 2017. Hevel Group will provide operation and maintenance services for all three power plants.

Fortum currently operates 85 MW of solar capacity in India and an additional 100 MW is estimated to be commissioned during 2017.

Fortum is aiming to create a gigawatt-scale solar and wind portfolio, which will include approximately 500 MW of renewable capacity in Russia.

In 2017, the total volume of the solar power on the Russian wholesale market amounts to 224 MW. The largest solar power plants are located in the Orenburg region, and the republics of Bashkortostan and Altai. Based on the results of the capacity selection auction for renewables (RES), it is expected that an additional 1.5 GW of solar power will be added to the wholesale market in 2018-2023.