Russian Energy Ministry to Select Renewable Energy Projects by End of September

The Russian Ministry of Energy intends to select projects for the construction of power plants based on renewable energy sources (RES) in the retail electricity markets by the end of September, the press service of the department reported.

The draft decree of the Government of the Russian Federation has been published for public discussion on the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts.

The required capital and operating cost ceilings for such projects beyond 2024 have not yet been approved. The Ministry of Energy of Russia submitted the relevant proposals earlier to domestic authorities.

Conducting selections on the specified dates will provide the regions and interested investors with sufficient time for the high-quality preparation of competitive applications and implementing the necessary procedures.

The retail RES support program has been operating in the regions since 2015 and is designed to provide incentives for the widespread introduction of green electricity in the retail markets, the diversification of energy sources, the development of innovative activity, and the introduction of new types of generation adapted to local realities.

The basis of the return on investment mechanism during the construction of a renewable energy facility on the retail market is the rule on the mandatory purchase by grid organizations (in isolated energy systems – by guaranteeing suppliers) in priority order of energy generated from renewable energy sources at a specially established tariff in order to compensate for losses in networks.

The region determines the composition of such facilities based on the results of annual competitive selections.