“In 2020, 60 % of the new generating capacity installed in Russia was in solar or wind power stations,” Novak told a session entitled: ‘The global transition to the green economy: challenges for Russia and the role of the financial sector.’
But he added that this trend did not amount to replacing tradition energy sources.
At issue here, rather, was the development of new sources and making use of opportunities created by the energy transition, including the following:
- Nuclear power. The construction of small, modular reactors and floating nuclear stations will lead to an increased share for nuclear generation in the Russian balance from 20 % to 25 %.
- The gas sector. The use of technologies to produce “blue” hydrogen will boost demand for gas as will plans for CO2 capture – all serving as a foundation for low-carbon status.
- Generation within a given sector: Many Russian companies have already brought on stream or are intending to bring on stream “green” stations to provide for their own power needs.
- Energy Efficiency: the energy transition has attracted further attention to the need for timely work to be undertaken by companies and regulators to minimise the flaring of associated petroleum gas.
“We do not believe that traditional energy sources will disappear tomorrow – they simply need to be decarbonised,” Novak said, while stressing that Russia must maintain its share of global energy shipments of fossil fuels, even if commodity markets are undergoing a transformation.
Dmitry Konov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Russian Petrochemicals Company Sibur, addressed the risks of decarbonisation in his address to the session.
“The green campaign could give rise to a long wave of inflation, given the huge volume of investments it requires,” Konov told the gathering.
German Gref, the Chairman of Sberbank , the state-owned banking and financial services company, said the required level of investment could be achieved through the creation of a Russia-wide exchange of CO2 emission units. “And given the current price of carbon of $62 a tonne it is our estimate that about 46 % of the national programme for decarbonisation could be financed by payments for carbon units.“
