06:00, 21 February 2009

Kalmyk authorities hope to start the WPP despite the crisis

As of today, the project of installing several windmills in Kalmykia has been suspended for a while because of financial difficulties. However, the authorities of Kalmykia plan to make everything possible, even under current force-majeure circumstances, to make a successful launch of the Kalmyk Wind Power Plant (WPP). The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has learnt about it from a source in the Republic's government.

"The process of step-by-step installation is slightly undermined by the global crisis. Therefore now it's extremely difficult to predict with confidence when and to what extent the project will restart," the government source has explained.

There are problems with importing equipment from abroad (Russia has no manufacturers so far) and paying customs dues, which has increased the project cost by 13 million euros. In total, the investments into the Kalmyk WPP make 266.1 million euros.

See earlier report: "Kalmykia finishes erecting first wind power plant in the South of Russia".