Russia decided to invest hundreds of billions in renewable energy generation

Russia will invest hundreds of billions of rubles in renewable energy sources (RES). Pavel Snikkars, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, spoke about this in a video published on the official Telegram channel of the Ministry of Energy.

In the Russian Federation, from 2014 to 2024, there is a program to support green energy. Including – the construction of power plants based on renewable energy sources, which are selected through a competitive selection. They are guaranteed a return on investment within 15 years with a base rate of return of 12% per annum adjusted for OFZ yield.

The authorities decided to extend the program until 2035, but some of the parameters are still being discussed. “The main parameters are 350 billion rubles of support until 2035. And we expect the commissioning of about 6.7 GW of installed capacity, ”Snikkars noted.

“And we have experienced a significant reduction in the cost of producing solar and wind power generating stations. We took these circumstances into account in the second program. If the cost continues to decline, then colleagues will be able to build more, respectively, generation on renewable energy sources ”, – added the deputy head of the Ministry of Energy.

In general, according to Snikkars, the second program expects a decrease in the cost of building power plants based on renewable energy sources, an increase in requirements for the localization of equipment in the territory of the Russian Federation and “export recognition”.

The program includes export volume requirements for the production of this equipment. “After the completion of the second program, renewable energy sources will already enter the competitive shelf with traditional sources of generation,” the deputy minister concluded.

The development of renewable energy in the Russian Federation is rapidly gaining momentum

It should be noted that last year the international energy company Neosun Energy conducted a study of the Russian renewable energy market. “Compared to 2015, facilities operating on the basis of the use of renewable energy sources in 2019 began to be built nine times more often. For the first time, they accounted for almost a third of new projects launched in operation in Russia, ”the study says.

“Renewable energy sources are no longer alternative. In fact, they are increasingly replacing outdated and expensive coal and nuclear power plants in the world. This trend is gaining momentum in Russia as well, ”said Ilya Likhov, General Director of Neosun Energy.

“In 2018, renewable energy sources in our country accounted for only 7.6% of the new generating equipment commissioned, but at the end of 2019, the share increased to 29.1% (almost four times),” the study says.

Most of the constructed renewable energy facilities fell on solar power plants (57%) (in 2017 – 29%). The second place was taken by hydroelectric power plants (38%) (in 2017 – 64%), and the third – by wind power plants (5%) (in 2017 – 7%), experts explain.

March 25, 2021