The programme of the 7th St. Petersburg International Gas Forum discussed

September 20, 2017
Kirill Molodtsov spoke at the press conference dedicated to the 7th St. Petersburg International Gas Forum to be held as part of the Russian Energy Week.

Alexander Taganov, Deputy Head of the Representative Office of Uniper Global Commodities SE, Reiner Hartmann, Head of Uniper’s Moscow Representative Office, Andrey Nasledyshev, Deputy General Director of HMS Group, Denis Osadchiy, Head of the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum, and Sergey Yatsenya, Head of the National Oil and Gas Forum also attended the event.

The discussion was focused on the Forum programme. This year, the plenary session called “The Role of Russia’s Gas Industry in the Global Energy Balance” will be the Forum’s central event. Representatives of Gazprom, Royal Dutch Shell, Uniper SE, OMV, and China National Petroleum Corporation will share their expert opinions during the discussion.

The “Import Substitution in the Gas Industry” second annual exhibition will be held as part of the Forum. It will centre on Russian equipment, cutting-edge technological solutions for LNG plants and innovative sectoral solutions. 

 The Deputy Minister of Energy reminded his audience that the Russian Energy Week was a successor to three Forums: the National Oil and Gas Forum, the ENES Forum and the International Gas Forum. “The list of events to be held during the Russian Energy Week and the International Gas Forum will produce a synergy effect and provide maximum information on the gas industry and also on the oil industry, petrochemical industry, the power sector, power saving, and other energy-related areas”, Kirill Molodtsov emphasized.
27 September 2024 Within the framework of the existing legislation, development of distributed generation is gaining new impetus. Small-scale nuclear power, which occupies a special place in Russia's energy development strategy, opens up significant prospects. Technological and infrastructural development in this area is needed in order to overcome grid constraints preventing large-scale implementation of distributed generation. Strategic measures aimed at developing small-scale nuclear power and distributed generation create conditions for growth and ensure Russia's energy security. This was the conclusion reached at the session “Distributed Generation and Russia's Energy Security in the New Reality” at Russian Energy Week 2024 (REW). KEY CONCLUSIONS Small-scale nuclear power is a promising project for boosting Russia's energy sector “We are now looking at the investment programme, approving the primary neocore on the basis of the well-known self-propelled unit. A 2 megawatt fast-neutron reactor. And it remains to be implemented. In my opinion, it's already a unique installation. That is, if the shelf is 370 tonnes, then here the heaviest element, the container in the picture, will be 70 tonnes,” Ilya Vergizaev, President of Rusatom Overseas. Distributed generation should be developed within the framework of the current legislation “Approximately 20 gigawatts of capacity operate on the retail market. These 20 gigawatts are structured as follows: 5.5 gigawatts of generation facilities with an installed capacity from five to 25 megawatts; about seven gigawatts of the retail market is taken up by generation facilities with an installed capacity of more than 20 megawatts, operating on the retail market without permits, which runs counter to the existing legislation, and another six megawatts, respectively, likewise. Over 25 megawatts are operating with the requisite authorization documentation,” Valery Seleznev, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Energy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. Legislative changes require a comprehensive impact assessment “It might happen that the effect of the proposed changes for the wholesale market will be 17 billion roubles a year, while the negative effect will be 40 billion more, or even 57 billion. This is because the cost of switching from retail to wholesale, something they insist on, will necessitate modernization of the generation facilities themselves and amendment of the schemes for power delivery. When a facility is built that does not enter the retail market, there is a line stating that technical connection does not imply output of power to the general grid,” Valery Seleznev, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Energy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. PROBLEMS Capacity expansion is limited by the owner's capacity "From an atomic standpoint, we have an added task with greater capacity. We can't double in size. The second story is that these developments are all, frankly speaking, a legacy, a great legacy. We have started to reanimate these approaches. You are absolutely right that this is a very expensive story. And here we are, also hindered, of course, by not being evaluated from the point of view of either showcase, or beauty, or elegance of technological thought. Everything always comes down to money, to the tariff, to how much it costs for the end consumer. If there were more federal funding, then, I repeat, with things as they stand now, everything is being done using Rosatom's internal resources,” Ilya Vergizaev, President of Rusatom Overseas. Initiatives limit development of distributed energy and result in underpayments “Operating without the necessary authorization documents leads to non-payment of 7.5 billion roubles – surcharges of the electricity and capacity market that are redistributed to wholesale market consumers, as well as pensioners. Around 15 billion roubles a year remain unpaid for electricity transmission services, all this creating a stumbling block. Regulators don't like it,” Valery Seleznev, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Energy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. SOLUTIONS Increasing the share of nuclear power in the country's energy balance “In tandem with the Russian government's decision to increase the share of nuclear power from 20 to 25%,” Ilya Vergizaev, President of Rusatom Overseas. “When we look at the energy sector, less than 50% of our energy-rich territory, you are looking at a component of this part. But we need to consider another component, where nuclear power was one of the leading areas for us. It should be completely different, of a different market and so on. This is a very promising trend,” Vladimir Litvinenko, Rector of St. Petersburg Mining University. Expanding the power unit capacity threshold and setting up an inter-committee working association “We see how prices are changing on the wholesale market; we see that companies are becoming more and more motivated to switch to their own generation. 2024 has, however, seen an alternative proposal. One of the biggest consumer associations of industrial parks in Russia has proposed, on the contrary, that the capacity threshold for self-generation units be raised to 50 MW, with plants below this threshold not required to enter the electricity and capacity market,” Valery Seleznev, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Energy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. * This is a translation of material that was originally generated in Russian using artificial intelligence. For more information, visit the Roscongress Foundation’s Information and Analytical System at roscongress.org

A fair energy transition must take into account each country's national characteristics, circumstances and objectives. The impact of the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy cannot be ignored. Energy evolution must be just, equitable and inclusive so that all sectors of society can benefit from the change. To ensure sustainable development, the BRICS countries should be actively involved in developing long-term strategies. Sustainable energy is not just about the future but also a necessity for the present. This was the conclusion reached at the session “Annual Meeting of the BRICS Energy Research Platform” held as part of Russian Energy Week 2024 (REW).

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