Alexey Texler estimates Russia’s investment in renewable energy at RUB 1 trillion
“We have created an entire industry. If we’re talking in monetary terms, we estimate the volume of investments that have already been announced in the contests that have been held at more than RUB 600 billion. And if we keep in mind the contests that have not yet taken place as well as the potential of the machine-building industry and all other industries that are involved in this, we estimate this industry at a total of more than RUB 1 trillion”, Texler said.
Rusnano CEO Anatoly Chubais agreed with this assessment: “Indeed, the figures on renewable energy that Alexey Texler just now cited coincide with our estimates. The wind plus the sun, plus waste recycling – we’re talking about investment potential of around RUB 1 trillion”, he said.
Renewable energy sources were one of the key themes during Russian Energy Week. Participants in the panel discussion ‘Developing Renewable Energy Sources in Russia: Scaling Up and Exporting Technology’ noted that the reduction in the specific capital costs of renewable energy projects within the country and the emergence of Russian science intensive technologies on export markets are key priorities that should be a goal for the development of renewable energy in Russia.
Summing up the preliminary results of the development of renewable energy sources in Russia in 2017, Texler noted that the industry managed to maintain solid growth dynamics – both in quantitative and qualitative terms. Over the previous two years, about 130 MW of renewable energy source facilities have been built and commissioned in Russia. By the end of 2017, construction is expected to be completed on solar and wind power stations with the same amount of capacity – 130 MW. Facilities with capacity of 70 MW have already been commissioned.
“At the same time, the renewable energy sector is being replenished with new participants who are ready to invest in promising projects and are contributing their technological competencies to the industry. The growing competition is already positively affecting the market and reducing the specific capital costs for new projects”, Texler said.
