Russia Ministry of Energy: A meeting of the Public Council under the Ministry of Energy of Russia was held

At a meeting of the Public Council chaired by Sberbank President German Gref, the issue of developing renewable energy sources (RES) in Russia was discussed.

Nikolai Shulginov stressed that in the Energy Strategy, Russia will have to expand the planning horizon until 2050, providing for the development of low-carbon and carbon-free generation in the country. He noted that when updating the Energy Strategy, it is necessary to proceed from the diversified nature of the country’s energy balance – it is based on various energy sources – renewable energy sources, hydro, gas, nuclear and coal generation.

Speaking about the prospects for the development of renewable energy sources, the Minister recalled that all green energy facilities are now being built with support. “We are in favor of completing this additional support after 2035 at a price parity between renewable energy sources and conventional generation. We expect that investors will build green stations on their own. At the same time, it is important to choose the right territories for the placement of new facilities based on renewable energy sources, so as not to create an overabundance of such generation in certain regions, and also to take into account the unstable, weather-dependent nature of its functioning, ”the Minister said.

Nikolay Shulginov also mentioned the development of energy storage technologies. “In the near future, on the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation, we have to work out the issue of building pumped storage power plants in the country with an installed capacity of up to 5 GW,” he said.

At the same time, according to the head of the Ministry of Energy, the prohibition of coal-fired power plants as inconsistent with the logic of the energy transition will not occur in the near future. In the absence of the introduction of innovative technologies for capturing and utilizing greenhouse gas emissions, such plants will face a gradual, evolutionary decommissioning, followed by replacement with gas and renewable energy generation.



In turn, Pavel Snikkars reported on the main results and prospects for the development of the renewable energy sector in Russia. He noted that the development of renewable energy sources is one of the main instruments for achieving sustainable development goals.

“The greatest real development and practical importance for the energy system is hydroelectric generation, which already accounts for 20.1% of the total installed generation capacity, as well as actively developing solar and wind energy. By the current moment, about 4 GW of renewable energy capacities are already successfully operating in the UES of Russia, excluding large hydroelectric power plants. Of these, solar energy accounts for 1.79 GW, wind energy – 1.9 GW, other types of renewable energy sources – not yet such a significant share, ”the deputy minister said.

He added that the leading regions in terms of the volume of installed capacity of RES-based power plants are the Republic of Crimea (13% of the installed capacity), Rostov region (11.7%), Astrakhan region (11.3%) and Orenburg region (11.1 %).

The development of renewable energy sources in Russia began relatively recently, but is really intensive, Pavel Snikkars noted. “In the domestic system of support for renewable energy sources, the emphasis is not on direct subsidizing of producers, but on transparent competitive support measures,” the deputy head of the Ministry of Energy emphasized.

In the wholesale market, this is payment for capacity under capacity supply contracts (CSA RES), concluded for a 15-year period based on the results of long-term selections, in retail markets – the possibility of supplying grid organizations (guaranteeing suppliers – in isolated areas) of electricity generated by RES , the composition of which is also determined by the results of competitions, only already held not at the federal level, but by the regions themselves.

In addition, mechanisms have been developed and successfully implemented to support microgeneration, including on the basis of renewable energy sources with a power output of up to 15 kW, the main user is the country’s population, added Pavel Snikkars.

“The role of renewable energy sources in the energy system will grow steadily. Yes, renewable energy sources are unlikely to completely replace traditional generation, but their volume will tend to increase significantly. From the point of view of our long-term plans, I would like to note that by 2024 at least 5.4 GW of capacities based on renewable energy sources should be commissioned, by 2035 – taking into account the results of the past competitive selection – at least 13.5 GW, and if we talk about more in the long term of 2050, it is necessary to increase the share of renewable energy sources to 12.5% ​​in the energy balance, “he said.

“When implementing these tasks, it is important to remember that the power industry is a supporting industry and its main goal is to ensure reliable energy supply to the consumer and the work of the country’s economy as a whole,” the deputy minister concluded.



German Gref, commenting on the main issue on the agenda, drew attention to the fact that the definition of the principles for the development of renewable energy sources when updating the Energy Strategy should be linked to all of its elements.

“Only taking into account all the components will make it possible to choose ways to stimulate the development of“ green ”generation. We will understand how much investment in the industry is needed and what needs to be done to create this investment flow, ”he explained.