Erkovetskaya power station

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Erkovetskaya power station (Yerkovetskaya, Ерковецкая ТЭС) is a shelved power station in Erkovetsky coal mine, Ivanovsky, Amur, Russia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Erkovetskaya power station	Erkovetsky coal mine, Ivanovsky, Amur, Russia	50.316, 128.447 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.

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Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	CHP	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	shelved	coal - lignite, fossil gas - natural gas	1000	unknown	–	–	–
Unit 1	shelved	gas	1000	not found	no	–	–
Unit 1	shelved	coal - lignite, fossil gas - natural gas	1000	unknown	–	–	–

CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
Unit 1	Inter RAO – Electric Power Generation JSC [100.0%]	–
Unit 1	JSC INTER RAO-Electric Power Generation	PJSC Inter RAO [100.0%]
Unit 1	–	–

Project-level coal details

• Coal source(s): Erkovetsky coal mine

Background

In 2020, the plant has been proposed to operate on natural gas instead. There have not been any developments related to this project since February 2020 and this project appears to be shelved.

8,000-MW Coal Proposal

In 2013, a framework agreement was signed between Inter RAO (owned by the Russian government) and State Grid Corporation of China (owned by the Chinese government) calling for Russia to hugely expand its power generation capacity in eastern Russia, for export to China.

In February 2014, the two companies proposed an 8GW coal-fired power plant in Amur Province, to be powered by coal from the Erkovetsky (Yerkovetskaya) lignite coal mine, less than 100 km from the border with China. The plant's capacity would be comparable to the total existing generation capacity of all of Russia's Far East. 2,000 km of transmission lines would need to be constructed to feed the plant's power into the Beijing grid. Financing would likely come from China. China's Huaneng Group could have also joined the project.

In February 2015, SGCC stated that the plant's cost would be $15 billion. The Russian energy minister stated that the goal was to begin construction on the first stage of the plant by late 2015 or early 2016, and to finish the first stage by the end of 2019. In October 2015, with the project's proposed cost having risen from $15 billion to $20-25 billion, Inter RAO was seeking tax concessions from the Russian government in order to ensure the project's profitability. According to an Inter RAO executive, Chinese development banks would provide at least 70% of project finance.

In August 2016, it was reported that Russia and China were exploring the possibility of signing agreements between SGCC and Inter RAO to cooperate on the project. Inter RAO Boris Kovalchuk had told journalists in April that the company was not satisfied with China's proposal for price terms, and that price would be the key factor in determining the future of the US$20-25 billion project. Eastern Energy Company (the subsidiary of Inter RAO, responsible for exports to China and Mongolia) would export 30-50 billion kWh per year of the power station's output to China, up to 5% of the total Russian output.

In June 2017 it was reported that the project (both the mine and plant) had been suspended "due to a decline in China's electricity consumption against the background of the economic crisis."Erkovetskiy coal mine

4,000-MW Coal Proposal

In May 2018, the project was revived, but at a smaller scale: 4,000 MW. The project would still be built by a consortium of Inter RAO and SGCC, and would now cost $10 billion. State lender Vnesheconombank has signed an agreement in principle with Inter RAO to provide funding for the project.

1,000-MW Gas Proposal

In the 2018 Inter RAO's annual report the project was described as a 1 x 1,000 MW plant using coal from the Yerkovetsky coal deposit.

Later in March 2020 it was reported that Inter RAO was studying whether to build the project to be fired by gas instead of coal. In February 2020, it was reported that the Chinese energy demand is questionable, while regional cities in Russia already have sufficient electricity supply and would not need an additional power station at this point.

A media report commenting on Inter RAO's strategy up to 2030 from October 2020 referred to negotiations still ongoing with China. Another source from autumn 2020 referred to the realization of the project only if China commits to buy all electricity produced.

As of April 2023 and December 2023, there have not been any developments and the project appeared to be shelved. The project was NOT mentioned in the Government decree 'General Scheme for Allocation of Power Assets' from 2017 or in the the revisions to the decree from November 2021 and December 2022. There was also no mention of the project in Inter RAO's 2022 Sustainability Report.

Financing

Proposed in 2015-2018: Vnesheconombank (VEB), Chinese development banks

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datases, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.