Russian power equipment manufacturers face a decline in orders after 2027 as a 15-year national hydropower modernization cycle nears completion, according to equipment producer Power Machines. Vladimir Demyanov, deputy general director of the company, told state news agency TASS that factory workloads are secured only for the next three years as final equipment sets for the Nizhny Novgorod and Chirkey hydroelectric plants near completion.
Russia’s national energy development scheme through 2042 outlines the construction of seven new conventional hydroelectric stations and four pumped-storage plants with a total capacity of 6.7 gigawatts. Realizing these projects will require 37 new hydro units, with the first eight targeted for operation in 2031 and an additional 13 in 2032. Demyanov stated that long lead times for plant design, dam building, and turbine fabrication require project work to begin immediately to meet those deadlines.
Power Machines has an annual manufacturing capacity of up to 10 complete hydro equipment sets totaling two gigawatts, producing turbines and generators ranging from 30 to 640 megawatts alongside automated control systems. Industry representatives caution that an extended pause between the end of current retrofits and the start of new construction risks leaving specialized assembly lines idle, raising concerns over the retention of engineering expertise.
To offset high borrowing costs, equipment producers are advocating for guaranteed investment return mechanisms, similar to existing capacity supply contracts, along with state co-financing for reservoir construction, which typically accounts for up to one-third of total capital costs in major hydroelectric projects.
