Tognum To Provide Gensets For Energoatom

German diesel and gas engine manufacturer Tognum AG has won a large order for emergency generating sets from Russian power company Zvezda-Energetika JSC.

The generating sets will be used by the Russian state-owned Energoatom Concern OJSC to provide an emergency power supply in the Novovoronezh II nuclear power plant, which is under construction.

The order is worth about 26 million euros (US $37 million) and represents the first order for emergency generating sets from non-Russian sources. The generating sets will be equipped with MTU 20V 956 TB33 engines and will have a generating capacity of 36 megawatts (MW). The generators are capable of reaching operating speed within 15 seconds and can accept full design load within 50 seconds of start-up.

The Novovoronezh II nuclear plant is located near the city of Novovoronesch in Voronezh Oblast in central Russia and is being constructed close to the Novovoronezh I nuclear plant. The original Novovoronezh I plant was commissioned in December 1964 and contains five reactors, two of which have been shut down. The units, which had generating capacities of 210 MW and 365 MW, were shut down in February 1988 and August 1990.

The remaining reactors, units 3, 4 and 5, have a total capacity of 1,834 MW, but are also planned for eventual shutdown--Unit 3 in 2016 and Unit 4 a year later. At the time of construction, the reactors at Novovoronezh were essentially prototypes for the water-cooled, water-moderated reactors (VVER).

Construction of the Novovoronezh II power plant is expected to be complete in 2012 and will contain four VVER reactors, each generating capacities of 1,170 MW. The first reactor is expected to be connected to the grid in December 2012, with the second planned to come online in 2013. The remaining two reactors will come online as soon as possible.

In 2006, the Russian government determined a plan for nuclear expansion, with the intent of adding two new nuclear power plants to the grid each year, starting in 2012, and increasing the percentage of electricity produced from nuclear sources to 23% by 2020 and 25% by 2030.

With the success of the recently awarded contract, Tognum has hopes for further sales as a result of this expansion program. Three new nuclear power plant projects are planned for 2010, and a total of 15 plants are either under construction or in the planning stage.

Tognum has a presence in 130 countries worldwide. The company has almost 9,000 employees, and in addition to producing diesel and gas engines, it also develops marine propulsion systems, industrial drive systems and onsite energy systems.