Subject: --Bergey Units in NE Russia
BERGEY WINS US-AID GRANT:
40 TURBINES TO NORTH RUSSIA
Bergey Windpower, of Norman, Okla., has been awarded a $1.78
million contract funded by the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) that will pay for the installation of 40 wind
turbines and associated equipment in northeastern Russia,
according to the U.S. Export Council for Renewable Energy (US-
ECRE).
The contract, from the Russian Federation's Federal Center
for Small and Unconventional Energy, is funded by USAID's
Commodity Import Program and will begin a Northern Rural
Electrification Program (NREP) using U.S. wind technology and
equipment in northern Russia.
Phase I of the NREP program, US-ECRE said in a news release
October 1, calls for the installation of small wind energy
systems (1.5 kW and 10 kW) to replace existing diesel- and
gasoline-powered electric generating equipment and to provide
off-grid power to a number of small, remote coastal fishing
communities in the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions, where there
are excellent wind resources.
Wind systems are attractive for these applications because
of the high expense and low reliability of fossil-fueled
alternatives, according to Mike Bergey, president of Bergey
Windpower. "Diesel and gasoline systems are more expensive
because in many situations, fuel must be flown in by helicopter
or delivered on frozen river beds in the winter. And since the
breakup of the Soviet Union and the accompanying change in the
industrial base, spare parts for diesel generators have been hard
to obtain, leading to long periods when they are out of service."
The wind systems, Bergey noted, will include batteries for short-
term storage and will use existing generators for backup.
The USAID grant leverages approximately $450,000 in U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) funding for project planning and
feasibility support. The 40 systems to be procured with the
grant will total 315 kW in capacity and will include turbines,
tilt-up towers, batteries, inverters, controls, and wiring.
The Bergey turbines are specially configured for cold
climate operation, US-ECRE said. Mike Bergey said the company's
machines use materials that are generally compatible with cold
climate operation and that they will be outfitted with special
extra-stiff blades that are painted black. The 10-kW units, he
added, will use a silicon fluid in the tail damper that does not
change in viscosity at low temperatures.
Some 25 similarly-equipped Bergey turbines are currently
operating in the Far East, mostly on the Kamchatka Peninsula, on
Sakhalin Island, and on the Kurile Islands. Those units, Mike
Bergey said, were installed by government agencies or local
electric cooperatives.
US-ECRE said it "has been working in close collaboration
with DOE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the
White House, the Russian Ministry of Fuels and Energy, and other
Russian [agencies] in the design of [the NREP] program." The
program, it added, is part of a Memorandum of Cooperation
agreement between DOE and the Ministry of Fuels and Energy and
"was highlighted at a recent meeting of the Gore-Chernomyrdin
Commission on energy policy."
Phase II of the NREP program, US-ECRE said, will focus on
leveraging USAID funds with multilateral assistance and expanding
the program to 29 other regions of Russia, possibly with other
renewable energy technologies.
"Now part of a comprehensive energy strategy of Russia," the
release said, "NREP will demonstrate that renewables are a cost-
effective, environmentally sound alternative to diesel and
gasoline in remote areas. In addition, it will ensure
replicability throughout Russia and help stimulate a sustainable
market for the commercialization of renewable technologies. US-
ECRE believes that the NREP program will open a multi-million-
dollar market for procurement and investment opportunities
covering the entire spectrum of U.S. renewable energy
technologies and equipment."
Asked about long-term market prospects in Russia, Mike
Bergey commented, "The prospects are very good because Russia is
not very well electrified in the northern and far southern areas,
but there are great challenges because of the weak economy in
Russia and the weakness of the ruble. On the positive side,
there is also tremendous under-utilized and inexpensive
industrial capacity, particularly from idle military plants.
With some foreign investment to kick-start things, I think it can
be self-sustaining and could be a prosperous market. And the
wind resources are wonderful."
For additional information, contact Bergey Windpower Co.,
phone (405) 364-4212, fax (405) 364-2078, e-mail
, Web <http://www.bergey.com>.
_______________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
Tom Gray tomgray@econet.org
____________________________________________________________________________
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