TEHRAN - Russia will reportedly replace German-made hydropower-plant turbines with Iranian-made ones as Western sanctions have halted operations of Siemens in Russia since February 2022, Russia Today (RT) said.
In a report on Thursday, RT said Russia has begun producing Iranian-designed parts to replace Siemens turbines in the plants. The sanctions have impeded the servicing of German-made equipment.
Russia is currently capable of producing small and medium turbines, but turbines with a large capacity of between 100-120 megawatts were assembled at a Siemens factory inside Russia.
Back in October 2022, an Iranian official said that as per a contract, Iran will supply Russia with 40 turbines to help its gas industry.
Russia and Iran have in recent months underscored the importance of enhancing bilateral cooperation as both are under strict US sanctions.
Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said on December 20 last year that Russian companies were interested in cooperating with Iranian counterparts on gas turbine technology and joint production. “There is large potential for cooperation in this,” he told visiting Iranian Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian.
Heavy-duty gas turbines are domestically produced by MAPNA, a power and infrastructure group hailed as the Iranian Siemens.
The company is the largest contractor for steam, gas and combined cycle and renewable power plants in Iran and has carried out major projects in West Asia and beyond.
According to MAPNA Group CEO Abbas Aliabadi, the company has built more than 5,000 megawatts of thermal power plants across the world and begun manufacturing hydrogen-fueled turbines. “MAPNA has defeated the world’s greats in the power plant construction in price and quality, because it has been able to offer world-class equipment at a lower price to the international market,” he said.
“The total capacity of power plants we built in neighboring countries over the past year was 5,668 megawatts which is a good record and is worth 2.5 billion euros,” Aliabadi said in July.
The war in Ukraine has brought Russia and Iran closer in their efforts to counter the sanctions. The two countries have signed major deals to engage in joint energy projects. Iranian authorities announced in May that Iran could supply car parts and gas turbines to Russia under a barter arrangement that would allow the import of Russian steel to Iran.