Moscow, 16 September. On Tuesday, the Interdepartmental Acceptance Commission signed a report on project completion of the gas-turbine unit GTPP-110 at Ivanovskaya TPP and commissioned the unit into pilot operation.

Development of GTPP-110 is one the top-priority projects designed to eliminate the lagging of gas-turbine technologies in Russia's energy sector behind those of the developed Western countries.

In the past few years, Russia's electricity industry faced an increasingly serious problem of equipment wear and obsolescence. According to estimates, about 112 million kWh (or 62%) of the generating capacities will have exhausted their useful life by 2015. GTPP-110 developed by GP "Zorya-Mashproekt" will make it possible, beginning in 2004, for RAO "UES of Russia" to replace the old equipment at its power plants with new equipment using advanced combined-cycle generation technologies. GTPP-110 will serve as a basis for the manufacture of combined-cycle gas turbines CCGT-325 and CCGT-170, which are expected to replace the widely used steam power plants of 200-300 MW capacity.

The extensive use of CCGTs at RAO UES power plants will help dramatically reduce the fuel rate for electricity generation (coefficient of performance is expected to increase by 15-20%) while improving the environmental quality of the power plants. At the same time, the capital outlays for new construction projects and renewal of equipment at thermal power plants will decrease significantly due to reduced investment and metal consumption per unit of capacity commissioned, as well as shorter construction periods.

In February 2003, the CCGT-325 project won the tender held by the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology of the Russian Federation to select the best project aimed at modernizing large power generators. OAO "NPO "Saturn" and OAO "Leningrad Metal Works", which jointly participated in the tender, were awarded a government contract to develop and implement a full-scale production of highly efficient combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGT-325).

According to RAO "UES of Russia", by 2015 the demand for GTPP-110 is estimated to be 103 units for twenty power plants in Russia. The first power plant to be upgraded is Ivanovskaya TPP. The feasibility study for the upgrade project at Ivanovskaya TPP envisages the construction of two CCGT-325 units based on GTPP-110. The RUB8 billion construction project at the power plant is scheduled to start in 2004.