Joint venture settles on Russian turbine site
Nuclear steam turbines based on Alstom's Arabelle design are to be manufactured at Volgodonsk, Alstom-Atomenergomash (AAEM) has announced.
AAEM's board of directors announced its selection of the Volgodonsk facility in late December, citing the "exceptional" infrastructure capabilities of the site, which has a long history of heavy plant manufacture for the nuclear industry. Its good transportation infrastructure, existing facilities and pool of highly skilled manpower will "significantly" streamline the ramp-up of localized Russian production of turbine islands based on Alstom's Arabelle low-speed turbine technology, AAEM says.
The joint venture is contracted to deliver the turbine islands for the two-unit Baltic nuclear power plant in Kaliningrad, the first unit of which is under construction. AAEM CEO Alexander Tsvetkov said that first turbine production would take place in 2013. The Volgodonsk plant was formerly Atommash's heavy equipment manufacturing site, and was leased by AEM-Tekhnologii, the reactor equipment-manufacturing arm of Atomenergomash, in 2012. The plant will also manufacture the pressure vessel for the Baltic nuclear power plant.
The Franco-Russian AAEM joint venture company was founded in 2007 to manufacture complete turbine islands for nuclear power plants based on Alstom's Arabelle low-speed turbine technology. Deliberations on a Russian manufacturing site have been ongoing since a memorandum of understanding detailing plans for the facility was signed in 2010. Sites at Petrozavodsk and Podolsk were also considered as possible locations.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
