On 2 October, Russian and international experts took part in the session entitled ‘Global Challenges and Trends in Renewable Energy Development’ at the Russian Energy Week International Forum. Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Turkey Fatih Donmez, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Yuriy Manevich, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Energy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valery Seleznev, Managing Director of German Energy Agency (dena) Kristina Haverkamp, Director-General of IRENA Francesco La Camera, General Director of Hevel Group Igor Shakhray, General Director of NovaWind Alexander Korchagin, and other participants discussed national support programmes and the prospects for the Russian industry of renewable energy.
The discussion reviewed the experience of implementing national programmes, current challenges and forecasting global trends in renewable energy. Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA, offered the opinion that renewable energy is outperforming growth rates. In line with his colleague, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Turkey Fatih Donmez noted the significant progress of the Turkish energy sector in green energy, facilitated by infrastructural changes, new business models and market regulation mechanisms, and to a substantial degree the initiative of private companies.
Experts noted that any industry milestone is a new challenge. The development of renewable energy-generating technologies raises the issue of electricity storage, calls for new economic models and guarantees for investors and financial institutions.
Kristina Haverkamp emphasized a significant role of the state in the development of green energy. Over the past 20 years, renewable energy support has facilitated the full energy transformation of Germany, which translates into complete decarbonization by 2030.
Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Yuriy Manevich is confident that renewable energy is to challenge the traditional power, but the latter will still hold the lead in Russia. “It is significant that the market now sees the full potential of renewable energy sources. The Renewable Energy Support Programme 2024 proved successful. The state, investors and contractors made a good showing in this project. In the following support programme, the state will consider the 2035 timeline and will offer guaranteed income rate to attract 400 billion roubles of investments,” explained Yuriy Manevich.
First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Energy of the State Duma Valery Seleznev noted a strategic approach in the development of renewable energy and noted the significance of political processes. According to Mr. Seleznev, the law on micro generation is the first step towards smart consumerism. “We need to act on the climate agenda. RES is a healthier technology; it preserves the health of the nation. The question now is what will the energy balance be,” emphasized the expert.
The issue of energy balance in the industry remains open today. Therefore, experts need to carry on the discussion.
The Russian Energy Week is organized by the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and the Roscongress Foundation with the support of Moscow Government.