Windarseverstal (formerly VRS Towers)

History

2024: Windar Renewable sold 51% of Windarseverstal LLC to a St. Petersburg company

The St. Petersburg company "New Solutions and Technologies" bought from the Spanish Windar Renovables 51% stake in Windarseverstal LLC, a joint venture with Severstal"" to produce towers for wind plants. This deal became known on January 10, 2024.

According to Interfax with reference to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (USRUL), Severstal's share in Windarseverstal LLC remained unchanged (49%). According to the register, New Solutions and Technologies LLC was registered in May 2023 with an authorized capital of 100 thousand rubles. The sole owner of the company is its director Sergey Bobrov.

New Solutions and Technologies bought a 51% stake in Windarseverstal LLC from the Spanish Windar Renovables

The Windarseverstal plant produces about 150 towers for wind farms annually. He had contracts with European companies Vestas and Siemens Gamesa.^[1]

2023

Interfax recalls Severstal's statement in 2023, in which the company announced plans not to abandon projects in the renewable energy sector (RES), despite the withdrawal of a number of companies from the Russian market.

We are ready to be a key partner of those integrators who will come to the place of companies that, unfortunately, have left, "said Dmitry Goroshkov, director of work with energy companies and infrastructure projects at Severstal.

The fact that Windar Renovables is going to leave the joint venture with Severstal, Reuters, citing its sources, reported at the end of March 2023. According to one of the interlocutors of the publication, the Spanish group for a long time tried to curtail its activities in Russia.

2021: Rusnano's exit from the VRS Towers project

On September 13, 2021, Rusnano JSC announced the sale of its share in the enterprise Towers VRS LLC, which implies the exit from the project for the production of towers for wind power plants (WEU) in Taganrog upon reaching the planned economic indicators. 24.5% of the shares were bought by PAO Severstal.

"The cycle of project support by Rusnano as a development institute that forms innovative ecosystems along the entire value chain, including production and education, has been successfully completed and, in accordance with its mandate, Rusnano has withdrawn from the project," said Alisher Kalanov, head of the Investment Division of Rusnano Management Company. Alisher Kalanov also recalled that "quite recently we successfully left the joint venture for the production of blades. In the case of VRS Towers LLC, Rusnano Group successfully completed its participation in the project after attracting foreign investments and technologies, assisting in structuring the transaction, choosing a site and concluding a special investment contract, and after the completion of the investment phase, actively contributed to increasing the value of the company through participation in its management. "

In conclusion, Alisher Kalanov, head of the Investment Division of Rusnano Management Company, said that "Rusnano does not plan to stop there and, together with Windar, Vestas and Severstal, is discussing the possibility of expanding the line of products produced by the enterprise, as for the needs of the future program of PDM RES 2.0 (State support program for renewable energy sources), as well as the potential production of towers for offshore LEUs, including for the construction of wind farms, which will provide "green" electricity for the production of "green" hydrogen. "

Thus, the parties involved in the project are interested in participating in the implementation of their decisions to expand the business in onshore and offshore wind power, including in the development of the hydrogen industry. Windar Renovables, thanks to which the plant for the production of VES towers in Taganrog was successfully commissioned, is a transnational player and expert in the field of localization and transfer of technologies, which has ten production sites located around the world.

"Thanks to the verified actions, Rusnano became a key player in the implementation of the project and allowed Windar Renovables to strengthen its position in the Russian market. As a result of this interaction, Windar Renovables and Rusnano have established a fruitful business relationship, which we positively assess in the focus of what they brought us, "said Justo Acedo, CEO of Windar Renovables.

"Our company pays special attention to environmental issues, and increasing its presence in the equity capital in VRS Towers fully meets Severstal's ESG strategy (TAdviser: ESG - from the English Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance, or Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance)," said Alexander Shevelev, CEO of Severstal.

As of September 2021, VRS Towers is one of three plants built with the participation of the Rusnano Group as part of the program for localizing elements of wind power plants.

2018: Establishing an Enterprise

The enterprise LLC "Towers VRS" was launched in December 2018. Its founders were Windar Renovables (51%), Rusnano (24.5%) and Severstal (24.5%). The project is being implemented under a special investment contract (SPIC) concluded between the Russian Federation, the administration of the Rostov Region, PAO Severstal and LLC Towers VRS.

The project parties maintain a strategic relationship and are interested in exploring and evaluating new projects, such as the production of towers for offshore wind turbines.

See also

• Wind Power and Wind Power Plants (Russia and the World)
• Alternative power (Russia and the World)
• Solar power in Russia and the world
• Nuclear Power. Facts and Myths
• Smart Grid

Notes