A system of solar panels with an overall capacity of 2.5 MW was built as an addition to the diesel generator units existing in the settlement. The resulting power plant has an aggregate capacity of 14.1 MW.
The power plant provides uninterrupted power supplies to the settlement with a population of over 5,000 people. During the daytime, electricity generated by the solar power plant is fed into the power grid, partly replacing diesel-generated electricity, while the energy accumulation system with a capacity of 450 kWh evens out the fluctuations in capacity at the solar power plant.
The solar-diesel power plant is operating in the extreme conditions of the Far North, in a harsh continental climate. Local temperatures can drop below minus 60 degrees Celsius in winter and rise above 35 degrees Celsius in summer.
Diesel fuel for the generators is shipped to the Evenkiysky District via the Nizhnyaya Tunkuska River as part of the so-called Northern Delivery (a set of operations undertaken in the period from late May through October). Tura is the most remote inhabited place, to which cargo is delivered by Yenisei River Shipping Company. The route from the estuary to Tura stretches for 867 km. There are no other options for shipping diesel fuel and coal to the settlement. This explains the steep prices for diesel in the region.
The new power plant was built under an energy service contract with the Ilimpiyskiye Elekroseti municipal enterprise using the funds of Hevel Energoservice. Return on investment will come from reductions in spending on diesel fuel. This financial model will make it possible to avoid raising utility rates for the population, as well as, after return on investment is achieved, to reduce the strain on the regional budget through reductions in subsidies on diesel fuel purchases.
By various estimates, consumption of diesel fuel might go down by 15–20% to about 644–650 tons per year following the launch of the new power plant. “The power plant in Tura is the first large-scale solar generation facility in the region. It is a very significant project for the northern part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory where electricity is mostly derived from diesel generation. Surely, we will scale up Tura’s positive experience in other territories as well. The results of such projects will allow reducing the share of expensive power generation and generally provide for a sustainable power supply in remote territories,” Alexander Ananyev, Minister of Industry of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, is quoted as saying by the press service.
