NOVATEK catches the Yamal wind The company may build a wind farm for 200 MW in Sabetta

According to Kommersant's information, NOVATEK may build a wind power plant (WPP) in Sabetta to gradually replace the generation of the local gas thermal power plant and reduce the carbon footprint of the Yamal LNG project. In the longer term, the use of WPP energy for the production of green hydrogen is being considered. The capacity of the new station can be up to 200 MW, and the cost in the Arctic version, according to analysts, is 12-14 billion rubles. Kommersant's interlocutors call the Danish Vestas the most likely contender for the construction.

NOVATEK, aimed at reducing CO2 emissions, plans to build the first wind farm near the Yamal LNG plant in Sabetta, Kommersant sources familiar with the situation say. They find it difficult to name the expected timing of the commissioning of RES generation. Potentially, the wind farm should gradually replace the generation of the existing thermal power plant that supplies electricity to the LNG plant, thereby reducing its carbon footprint, Kommersant's interlocutors explain.

Based on the fact that the TPP's capacity is 376 MW and up to half of it is in reserve (this is an isolated power zone where the double reserve rule is in effect), the capacity of a pilot wind farm can be 190-200 MW.

Further, taking into account NOVATEK's plans for the production of hydrogen, the company can install an electrolyzer at the wind farm for the production of green hydrogen, which is more demanded by European buyers than blue. Now electrolysis is too expensive: S&P Global Platts estimates that the cost of green hydrogen produced in this way ranges from € 4.56 per kg by alkaline electrolysis in the Netherlands to € 5.7 per kg by PEM electrolysis, according to S&P Global Platts estimates for mid-June. For comparison, the cost of blue hydrogen for steam methane reforming is € 1.4–2.5 per kg.

A competition to select a technology partner for a wind farm may take place in late 2021 - early 2022, Kommersant's interlocutors say.

The main contender for the contract is the Danish Vestas. Siemens Gamesa could potentially come to the selection, but the latter has not accumulated a sufficient portfolio of orders in the Russian market during the period of the first wave of support for green generation in 2014–2024, and, according to Kommersant, is considering the possibility of leaving the Russian market after completion construction of a wind farm for Enel Russia.

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Yamal has a high wind potential, according to Kommersant's sources: the wind speed on the peninsula is about nine meters per second. However, Arctic wind turbines will cost NOVATEK a little more than conventional ones. At the same time, there will be no special requirements for the level of localization of equipment for wind farms in Sabetta, according to Kommersant's sources among machine builders.

Novatek, Siemens Gamesa and Vestas did not respond to Kommersant.

According to Vladimir Sklyar of VTB Capital, the cost of building a wind farm in Yamal may amount to 12-14 billion rubles.

Considering that the installed capacity utilization factor (ICUF) of wind generation is only 30%, 200 MW of capacity will be sufficient to produce 11 thousand tons of green hydrogen, while the level of replacement of emissions will be low - about 240-260 thousand tons of CO2 per year (0 , 6% of the total emissions of NOVATEK).

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In line with its emission reduction strategy, NOVATEK also intends to upgrade one of eight Siemens SGT-800 gas turbines at the Sabetta TPP. The company also entered into a similar agreement with the Italian turbine manufacturer Nuovo Pignone (part of Baker Hughes). NOVATEK set a goal by 2030 to reduce specific greenhouse gas emissions in hydrocarbon production by 6% from the current 12.58 tons of CO2 per thousand barrels of oil equivalent, and in the production of LNG - by 5% (now 0.263 tons of CO2 per ton of LNG). By the end of 2022, the company plans to adjust its long-term development strategy, taking into account plans for green projects.

Tatyana Dyatel

Original source: https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4877669?utm_source=newspaper&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter