Anton Inyutsyn: “Energy conservation is always on the agenda”
“We tried to include the most pressing issues facing the global energy sector in the Forum programme, issues that are, of course, also relevant for Russia. Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak suggested that ideas around ‘new energy’ should have the opportunity to compete fairly with ‘traditional’ ideas, and thought leaders in renewable energy development, innovators, and recognized international experts participated in the debates alongside oil industry executives and power plant owners”, commented Inyutsyn.
He said that the phrase “new energy” is usually used by the expert community to refer to processes in the industry which relate to a new industrial revolution characterized by digitization, robotization, and automation.
“Finally, ‘new energy’ also includes ‘smart’ networks, which help to reduce costs and cut the number of accidents to a minimum, as well as automation and robotization of the sector”, the Deputy Minister said.
Inyutsyn also spoke about digitization in the oil and gas sector. “Digitization, automation, and artificial intelligence – the key thing to note is that these are not threats, but rather the conditions needed to develop civilization and maintain international competitiveness”, he remarked.
When Kommersant Review asked about Russia lagging behind the West in terms of energy efficiency, the Deputy Minister explained, “In the rankings of government policy on sustainable energy prepared by the World Bank, Russia is among the leading nations in terms of energy efficiency, beating out, even if only slightly, countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, and China.”
Inyutsyn pointed out that new technologies are constantly emerging. “Therefore both we and our foreign partners are always setting new goals to increase efficiency. It should be no surprise that energy conservation is always on the agenda”, said the Deputy Minister.
