The Russian Federation has set out to increase and diversify its use of renewables, particularly for power generation. Under current plans and policies, renewables would reach nearly 5% of total final energy consumption by 2030. Accelerated deployment, however, could boost Russia's renewable energy share to more than 11% in the same timeframe, according to this REmap working paper from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)Achieving this potential calls for cumulative investments of USD 300 billion in renewable energy up to 2030, or on average USD 15 billion per year between 2010 and 2030. When externalities related to human health and climate change are taken into account, these investments in renewables could ultimately save up to USD 11 billion per year.Yet certain areas require further attention. These include long-term planning, integration of renewables with existing plans, opening the way for solar PV and wind development, and ensuring reliable and affordable bioenergy supplies.Hydropower - representing about a fifth of Russian power generation capacity - is currently the most prominent renewable source, along with bioenergy for heating in buildings and industry. By end of 2015, total installed renewable power generation capacity reached 53.5 gigawatts (GW) of which 51.5 GW came from hydropower., and the remainder 2 GW from bioenergy, wind, solar PV and geothermal.The country analysis forms part of REmap, IRENA's global roadmap to double renewables in the global energy mix.

The challenges in Russia’s energy sector are changing. On the demand side, Europe is seeking to limit its dependence on Russian oil and gas, with the result that China and other Asian countries are likely to eventually become growing export markets for Russian energy. On the supply side, oil and gas fields in West Siberia are diminishing and in future Russia’s energy will have to come more from East Siberia and the Arctic, which will necessitate new infrastructure development and the employment of advanced technologies, which may increase Russia’s dependence on commercial partners from outside Russia. This book explores the challenges facing Russia’s energy sector and the resulting security implications. It includes a discussion of how far the Russian state is likely to continue to monopolise the energy sector, and how far competition from private and foreign companies might be allowed.

This outlook highlights climate-safe investment options until 2050, policies for transition and specific regional challenges. It also explores options to eventually cut emissions to zero.

What is Russia's potential as a partner in the global race towards a low-carbon economy? This book provides a balanced analysis of Russia's impressive, understudied and sometimes surprising strengths in the renewable energy sector. The work is a first of its kind, exploring the significant political and economic obstacles to developing renewable energy in Russia. The volume explores whether effective partnerships may be achieved by combining Russia's excellence in basic research and its diverse natural resources with Western management skills - and aiming for innovation and exports. Solar power, electricity reform, market niches for renewable energy and Nordic-Russian partnership are all examined in detail. Providing crucial insights for academics, policy-makers and business actors seeking to cooperate with Russian partners, this groundbreaking book raises the vitally important question of how key countries such as Russia will approach global climate politics and their own energy supply in the post-Kyoto world.

The book provides a comprehensive overview of the most recent and advanced research findings on energy production and management in the important Ural industrial region of Russia. The authors consider economic problems of energy development, management systems for sustainable energy, and investment mechanisms for energy. Comprised of chapters on energy efficient technologies, environmental aspects of using energy, and personnel for the power industry, the volume is ideal for a range of scientists and engineers interested in innovative approaches to generation and distribution of energy.

The Climate and Environmental Change, Political and Economical issues nowadays are forcing many countries to reconsider their way of energy production and consumption. Thus, the Russian Federation recently (2011) has completed major reconfiguration of the sector. This book is giving a comprehensive overview of the sector after the decade of restructuring. It determines political and economical development of the sector identifies technical capabilities, current and future energy matrix. Taking into the account, that the country has high amount of conventional resources, the author reviews energy efficiency potential and programs, capacities for penetration of innovative smart technologies and for expansion of environmentally friendly solutions for energy production and consumption. She also analyzes and concludes the range of technical and economical potential for renewable energy boost at the main land as well as at remote areas. As presented in the book, the result of the research gives a broad notion of possible directions of the Russian electricity sector development for the next 20 years.

Russia is not only rich in natural gas, oil, coal and uranium. It also holds a considerable renewable energy resource base. The Federal Electricity Law mandates the federal Government to stimulate the development of renewable energy sources. However, so far, the Government has failed to create a functioning regulatory framework that would ensure the financial viability of these investments. This article examines the role that regional authorities could play in developing clean energy in the Russian Federation. Building further upon the environmental federalism literature, this article analyses the regulatory barriers to regional feed-in tariffs in Russia and, based on the US experience, proposes legal solutions to overcome these barriers. Russia - because of its role as a fossil fuel superpower, its weak track record on climate change mitigation, together with high political centralisation of power - is a unique case for an analysis of the role of regions as innovators of sustainable development.