Fossil-dependent Russia Finally Warms Up To Solar Power

Solar energy in Russia might be on the verge of a major expansion, thanks to a government support program for renewable energy sources, The Moscow Times reported industry experts as saying.

Russia, the world’s fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has historically relied on its vast oil and gas reserves to bolster its economy. But the Kremlin has started to pay attention to the global climate emergency, and ahead of this week’s pivotal COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, President Vladimir Putin pledged that Russia would achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. That’s not a very ambitious target by most estimates, mainly due to the country’s push for oil and gas exports for the foreseeable future.

Solar energy is the renewable most ripe for development, Russia Renewable Energy Development Association (RREDA) said, because technology has improved to cut the price of its generation in half to between 4,300 and 6,300 rubles ($62-$92) per megawatt-hour, depending on geography and local competition.

Russia’s typically low temperatures and few sunny days don’t mean it can’t produce solar energy on a significant scale, said Anton Usachev, deputy director of Russia’s largest solar panels company HEVEL.

Moscow-based renewables company Unigreen Energy, which has received a government guarantee that it will be paid extra for the power it adds to local grids, said Russia has more than enough insolation — solar radiation hitting an object — to produce solar energy.

“Most Russian regions have high insolation — above 1,000 — the level required to generate energy,” the company said in a statement.

Both Unigreen and HEVEL experts said Russia’s many Arctic settlements could benefit from hybrid solar-diesel power stations that would cut costs and solve supply chain and shortage problems.

“Local authorities could now really cut down their expenses on diesel fuel. But most importantly — people get a 24/7 power supply,” Usachev said, pointing to a project HEVEL recently completed in the frozen Far Eastern Chukotka region.

Arctic cold actually helps preserve solar energy, he added, because solar panels lose less of their captured energy in cold weather. On a clear, sunny day, a solar panel in the Arctic might generate more electricity than its twin in Morocco.

Russia faces an uphill battle in its attempts to move from fossil fuels to renewable and other sources of clean energy. The global economy gets roughly 10% of its power from wind and solar sources, while in Russia, solar’s share is just 0.2%.

The government gives fossil fuel companies trillions of rubles in tax incentives each year, even though they already turn the same amount in profits, according to Greenpeace Russia.

However, while fossil fuels still form the overwhelming basis of economies, the pandemic highlighted how fragile global supply chains can be in the face of unexpected events.

As the Kremlin introduces new carbon emissions and air pollution regulations, some regions are starting to look at cutting their dependence on fossil fuels.

The Omsk, Altai and Zabaikalsky regions, the republic of Sakha and other locations in Siberia and Russia’s Far East launched their first solar plants in recent years, according to Tatiana Lanshina, the director of think tank Target Number Seven Association.

While Russia has not presented an official updated national climate strategy ahead of COP26, and Putin himself will not attend, many believe that the first signs of a change in attitude are imminent. From a being a country that was almost a climate denier in its actions, any movement ahead has to be considered positive.