Fortum shifts 1.3GW Russian wind portfolio to JV with Gazprombank

Finnish utility Fortum is starting to cooperate in wind power generation in Russia with Bank GPB, or Gazprombank, which is majority-owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom and its pension fund.

Fortum is transferring a 1.3GW portfolio of wind projects from the Fortum-Rusnano Wind Investment fund to a new joint venture with Bank GPB.

Upon the transfer, the JV with Rusnano will be dissolved.

The world’s largest country (by landmass) last year had started auctions for almost 7GW of wind, solar and hydro power capacity under a revamped support scheme with stricter local content rules and for commissioning up to 2035.

Russia in a first series of tenders for projects to be commissioned by 2024 had already auctioned off 5.4GW in renewable energy capacity, 3.35GW of which is wind power. Oil and gas-rich Russia has joined the renewable energy train relatively late, and still generates the vast majority of its electricity from fossil and nuclear sources.

Fortum is the largest player in Russia’s renewables market, with a portfolio of about 3.4GW of wind and solar farms and development projects – either stand-alone or together with its joint ventures.

So far, 1.2GW of its wind and solar projects in the country are operational, 0.3GW under construction and 1.9GW under development.

Fortum and its partners take the investment decision in wind and solar on a case by case basis.

The company has a maximum equity commitment in Russia of 15bn Russian roubles ($195.75m).