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23 December 2004 - Russia's electricity utility RAO UES on Monday inaugurated the Sochinskaya cogeneration plant, only the third one in Russia to use combined cycle technology.
The installed capacity of the Sochinskaya thermal power plant is 78 MW of electricity and 25 Gcal/h of heat. The power plant will generate 550.3 million kWh of electricity and 77 040 Gcal of heat annually.
Sochinskaya was financed in accordance with the Investment Programme of RAO UES. In 2004, the amount of funds spent on the project by RAO totalled RUB3.65bn ($131m) in funds earmarked for investment and loans. Next year, RAO UES will allocate RUB2.6bn for principal and interest payments on the loan raised in 2004.
Sochinskaya TPP is the third large power plant in Russia to use the combined-cycle technology. The first one was the Severo-Zapadnaya CHPP in St.-Petersburg, and the second one was PGU-200 at Tyumenskaya CHPP-1. The combined-cycle technology helps increase the efficiency of thermal generation from 35-38 per cent to 51 per cent and reduces the consumption of natural gas by 30 per cent.
The equipment installed at the power plant was produced by Russian and foreign manufacturers, including Siemens and Power Machines Group.
The Sochinskaya TPP is a unique generation project. The construction was carried out in a resort area characterized by complex soils and high seismicity, which is why the most stringent technological and environmental requirements were imposed on the power plant's equipment and the quality of construction. Despite that the power plant was designed, built and into operation within two years.
The commissioning of the Sochinskaya plant will ensure reliable and uninterrupted power for consumers in the city of Sochi and the surrounding areas, and meet the growing energy demand in the region in connection with the creation of a recreation zone called "Krasnaya Polyana".
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