Renewable energy sources: a new revolution or another bubble. The impact of renewable energy on the stability of energy systems Renewable energy

Encyclopedic YouTube

1 / 4

✪ Energy sources. Sweden's renewable energy city.

✪ ALTERNATIVE ENERGY - how solar energy and wind energy harm the environment

✪ KWHCoin - renewable energy! ICO review!

✪ Renewable energy in the EU

Subtitles

Trends

Hydroelectricity is the largest source of renewable energy, providing 3.3% of global energy consumption and 15.3% of global electricity generation in 2010. Wind energy use is growing at about 30 percent per year worldwide, with an installed capacity of 318 gigawatts (GW) in 2013, and is widely used in Europe, the United States and China. Photovoltaic panel production is rapidly increasing, with a total capacity of 6.9 GW (6,900 MW) of panels produced in 2008, almost six times the 2004 level. Solar power plants are popular in Germany and Spain. Solar thermal plants operate in the United States and Spain, and the largest of them is a plant in the Mojave Desert with a capacity of 354 MW. The world's largest geothermal installation is the Geysers Plant in California, with a rated capacity of 750 MW.

Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programs in the world, producing fuel ethanol from sugarcane. Ethyl alcohol currently covers 18% of the country's demand for automobile fuel. Ethanol fuel is also widely available in the United States.

Renewable Energy Sources

The use of continuous processes is contrasted with the extraction of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, natural gas or peat. In the broad sense, they are also renewable, but not by human standards, since their formation takes hundreds of millions of years, and their use is much faster.

Wind energy

This is a branch of energy that specializes in converting the kinetic energy of air masses in the atmosphere into electrical, thermal and any other form of energy for use in the national economy. The transformation occurs with the help of a wind generator (to produce electricity), windmills (to produce mechanical energy) and many other types of units. Wind energy is a consequence of the activity of the sun, so it is classified as a renewable form of energy.

In the future, it is planned to use wind energy not through wind generators, but in a more unconventional way. In the city of Masdar (UAE), it is planned to build a power plant operating on the piezoelectric effect. It will be a forest of polymer trunks covered with piezoelectric plates. These 55-meter trunks will bend under the influence of the wind and generate current.

Hydropower

The advantages of PES are environmental friendliness and low cost of energy production. The disadvantages are the high cost of construction and power that varies throughout the day, which is why the PES can only operate in a single power system with other types of power plants.

Wave energy

Energy from sunlight

This type of energy is based on the conversion of electromagnetic solar radiation into electrical or thermal energy.

The largest photovoltaic solar power plant, Topaz Solar Farm, has a capacity of 550 MW. Located in California, USA.

SES of indirect action include:

• Tower- heliostats concentrating sunlight on a central tower filled with saline solution.
• Modular- at these solar power plants, the coolant, usually oil, is supplied to the receiver at the focus of each parabolic-cylindrical mirror concentrator and then transfers heat to the water, evaporating it.

Geothermal energy

Power plants of this type are thermal power plants using hot water as a coolant. Due to the absence of the need to heat water, geothermal power plants are significantly more environmentally friendly than thermal power plants. Geothermal power plants are built in volcanic areas, where at relatively shallow depths water is overheated above the boiling point and seeps to the surface, sometimes appearing in the form of geysers. Access to underground sources is carried out by drilling wells.

Bioenergy

This energy sector specializes in the production of energy from biofuels. It is used in the production of both electrical and thermal energy.

First generation biofuels

• Algae are simple living organisms adapted to grow and reproduce in polluted or salty water (contain up to two hundred times more oil than first generation sources such as soybeans);
• Camelina (plant) - growing in rotation with wheat and other grain crops;
• Jatropha curcas or Jatropha - grows in arid soils, with an oil content of 27 to 40% depending on the species.

Of the second generation biofuels sold on the market, the most famous are BioOil produced by the Canadian company Dynamotive and SunDiesel by the German company CHOREN Industries GmbH.

According to estimates of the German Energy Agency (Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH) (with current technologies), the production of fuels by pyrolysis of biomass can cover 20% of Germany's needs for automobile fuel. By 2030, with advances in technology, biomass pyrolysis could account for 35% of German vehicle fuel consumption. The production cost will be less than €0.80 per liter of fuel.

The Pyrolysis Network (PyNe) was created - a research organization uniting researchers from 15 countries in Europe, the USA and Canada.

The use of liquid pyrolysis products of coniferous wood is also very promising. For example, a mixture of 70% gum turpentine, 25% methanol and 5% acetone, that is, fractions of dry distillation of resinous pine wood, can be successfully used as a replacement for A-80 gasoline. Moreover, wood waste is used for distillation: branches, stumps, bark. The yield of fuel fractions reaches 100 kilograms per ton of waste.

Third generation biofuels- fuels obtained from algae.

The US Department of Energy studied high-oil algae under the Aquatic Species Program from 1978 to 1996. Researchers have concluded that California, Hawaii, and New Mexico are suitable for industrial production of algae in open ponds. For 6 years, algae were grown in ponds with an area of ​​1,000 m2. A pond in New Mexico showed high efficiency in capturing CO 2 . The yield was more than 50 grams of algae per 1 m2 per day. 200 thousand hectares of ponds can produce enough fuel for the annual consumption of 5% of US cars. 200 thousand hectares is less than 0.1% of US land suitable for growing algae. The technology still has many problems. For example, algae love high temperatures (desert climates are well suited for their production), but additional temperature regulation is required to protect the grown crop from nighttime drops in temperature (“cold snaps”). At the end of the 1990s, the technology was not put into commercial production due to the relatively low cost of oil on the market.

In addition to growing algae in open ponds, there are technologies for growing algae in small bioreactors located near power plants. Waste heat from a thermal power plant can cover up to 77% of the heat required for growing algae. This technology for growing algae culture is protected from daily temperature fluctuations and does not require a hot desert climate - that is, it can be used at almost any operating thermal power plant.

Criticism

Critics of the development of the biofuel industry say that the growing demand for biofuels is forcing agricultural producers to reduce the area under food crops and redistribute them in favor of fuel crops. For example, in the production of ethanol from feed corn, stillage is used to produce feed for livestock and poultry. When producing biodiesel from soybeans or rapeseed, the cake is used to produce feed for livestock. That is, the production of biofuels creates another stage in the processing of agricultural raw materials.

Measures to support renewable energy sources

At the moment, there are quite a large number of measures to support renewable energy sources. Some of them have already proven themselves to be effective and understandable to market participants. Among these measures it is worth considering in more detail:

• Green certificates;
• Reimbursement of the cost of technological connection;
• Connection tariffs;
• Net metering system;

Green certificates

Green certificates are understood as certificates confirming the generation of a certain amount of electricity based on renewable energy sources. These certificates are received only by manufacturers qualified by the relevant authority. As a rule, a green certificate confirms the generation of 1 MWh, although this value may be different. The green certificate can be sold either together with the electricity produced or separately, providing additional support to the electricity producer. To track the issue and ownership of “green certificates”, special software and hardware tools are used (WREGIS, M-RETS, NEPOOL GIS). In accordance with some programs, certificates can be accumulated (for future use) or borrowed (to fulfill obligations in the current year). The driving force behind the mechanism for circulation of green certificates is the need for companies to fulfill obligations undertaken independently or imposed by the government. In foreign literature, “green certificates” are also known as: Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), Green tags, Renewable Energy Credits.

Reimbursement of the cost of technological connection

To increase the investment attractiveness of projects based on renewable energy sources, government agencies may provide a mechanism for partial or full compensation of the cost of technological connection of generators based on renewable sources to the network. Today, only in China do network organizations fully bear all costs of technological connection.

Fixed tariffs for renewable energy

The experience accumulated around the world allows us to speak of fixed tariffs as the most successful measures to stimulate the development of renewable energy sources. These measures to support renewable energy sources are based on three main factors:

• guarantee of network connection;
• long-term contract for the purchase of all electricity produced by renewable energy sources;
• guarantee of purchasing produced electricity at a fixed price.

Fixed tariffs for RES energy may differ not only for different sources of renewable energy, but also depending on the installed capacity of RES. One option for a support system based on fixed tariffs is the use of a fixed premium to the market price of RES energy. As a rule, a premium to the price of produced electricity or a fixed tariff is paid over a fairly long period (10-20 years), thereby guaranteeing the return of investments made in the project and making a profit.

Net metering system

This support measure provides for the possibility of measuring the electricity supplied to the network and the further use of this value in mutual settlements with the electricity supply organization. Under a “net metering system,” the owner of a renewable energy source receives a retail credit for an amount equal to or greater than the electricity generated. In accordance with the law, in many countries, electricity supply organizations are required to provide consumers with the opportunity to carry out net metering.

Hydroelectric power is the next largest source of renewable energy, providing 3.3% of global energy consumption and 15.3% of global electricity generation in 2010. In 2010, 16.7% of global energy consumption came from renewable sources. The share of renewable energy is decreasing, but this is due to a decrease in the share of traditional biomass, which amounted to only 8.5% in 2010. The share of modern renewable energy is growing and in 2010 amounted to 8.2%, including hydropower 3.3%, for heating and water heating (biomass, solar and geothermal water heating and heating) 3.3%; biofuel 0.7%; electricity production (wind, solar, geothermal power plants and biomass in TPP) 0.9%. Wind energy use is growing at about 30 percent per year, worldwide, with an installed capacity of 196,600 megawatts (MW) in 2010, and is widely used in Europe and the United States. Annual production in the photovoltaic industry reached 6,900 MW in 2008. Solar power plants are popular in Germany and Spain. Solar thermal power plants operate in the United States and Spain, and the largest of them is a station in the Mojave Desert with a capacity of 354 MW. The world's largest geothermal installation is the Geysers Plant in California, with a rated capacity of 750 MW. Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programs in the world, producing fuel ethanol from sugarcane. Ethyl alcohol currently covers 18 percent of the country's automotive fuel needs. Ethanol fuel is also widely available in the United States.

Examples of renewable energy

Wind energy

This is a branch of energy specializing in the conversion of the kinetic energy of air masses in the atmosphere into electrical, thermal and any other form of energy for use in the national economy. The transformation occurs with the help of a wind generator (to produce electricity), windmills (to produce mechanical energy) and many other types of units. Wind energy is a consequence of the activity of the sun, so it is classified as a renewable form of energy.

In the future, it is planned to use wind energy not through wind generators, but in a more unconventional way. In the city of Masdar (UAE), it is planned to build a power plant operating on the piezoelectric effect. It will be a forest of polymer trunks covered with piezoelectric plates. These 55-meter trunks will bend under the influence of the wind and generate current.

Hydropower

The advantages of PES are environmental friendliness and low cost of energy production. The disadvantages are the high cost of construction and power that varies throughout the day, which is why the PES can only operate in a single power system with other types of power plants.

Wave energy

Energy from sunlight

This type of energy is based on the conversion of electromagnetic solar radiation into electrical or thermal energy.

SES of indirect action include:

• Tower- heliostats concentrating sunlight on a central tower filled with saline solution.

• Modular- at these solar power plants, the coolant, usually oil, is supplied to the receiver at the focus of each parabolic-cylindrical mirror concentrator and then transfers heat to the water, evaporating it.

Solar pond diagram:
1 - layer of fresh water; 2 - gradient layer;
3 - layer of steep brine; 4 - heat exchanger.

The largest power plant of this type is located in Israel, its capacity is 5 MW, the pond area is 250,000 m2, depth is 3 m.

Geothermal energy

Power plants of this type are thermal power plants using hot water as a coolant. Due to the absence of the need to heat water, geothermal power plants are significantly more environmentally friendly than thermal power plants. Geothermal power plants are built in volcanic areas, where at relatively shallow depths water is overheated above the boiling point and seeps to the surface, sometimes appearing in the form of geysers. Access to underground sources is carried out by drilling wells.

Bioenergy

This energy sector specializes in the production of energy from biofuels. It is used in the production of both electrical energy and thermal energy.

First generation biofuels

• Algae are simple living organisms adapted to grow and reproduce in polluted or salty water (contain up to two hundred times more oil than first generation sources such as soybeans);
• Camelina (plant) - growing in rotation with wheat and other grain crops;
• Jatropha curcas or Jatropha - grows in arid soils, with an oil content of 27 to 40% depending on the species.

Of the second generation biofuels sold on the market, the most famous are BioOil produced by the Canadian company Dynamotive and SunDiesel by the German company CHOREN Industries GmbH.

According to estimates of the German Energy Agency (Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH) (with current technologies), the production of fuels by pyrolysis of biomass can cover 20% of Germany's needs for automobile fuel. By 2030, with the development of technology, biomass pyrolysis could provide 35% of Germany's automotive fuel consumption. The production cost will be less than €0.80 per liter of fuel.

The Pyrolysis Network (PyNe) was created - a research organization uniting researchers from 15 countries in Europe, the USA and Canada.

The use of liquid pyrolysis products of coniferous wood is also very promising. For example, a mixture of 70% gum turpentine, 25% methanol and 5% acetone, that is, fractions of dry distillation of resinous pine wood, can be successfully used as a replacement for A-80 gasoline. Moreover, wood waste is used for distillation: branches, stumps, bark. The yield of fuel fractions reaches 100 kilograms per ton of waste.

Third generation biofuels- fuels obtained from algae.

The use of continuous processes is contrasted with the extraction of fossil energy sources such as coal, oil, natural gas or peat. In the broad sense, they are also renewable, but not by human standards, since their formation takes hundreds of millions of years, and their use is much faster.

Measures to support renewable energy sources

At the moment, there are quite a large number of measures to support renewable energy sources. Some of them have already proven themselves to be effective and understandable to market participants. Among these measures it is worth considering in more detail:

• Green certificates;
• Reimbursement of the cost of technological connection;
• Connection tariffs;
• Net metering system;

Green certificates

Green certificates are understood as certificates confirming the generation of a certain amount of electricity based on renewable energy sources. These certificates are received only by manufacturers qualified by the relevant authority. As a rule, a green certificate confirms the generation of 1 MWh, although this value may be different. The green certificate can be sold either together with the electricity produced or separately, providing additional support to the electricity producer. To track the issue and ownership of “green certificates”, special software and hardware tools are used (WREGIS, M-RETS, NEPOOL GIS). In accordance with some programs, certificates can be accumulated (for future use) or borrowed (to fulfill obligations in the current year). The driving force behind the mechanism for circulation of green certificates is the need for companies to fulfill obligations undertaken independently or imposed by the government. In foreign literature, “green certificates” are also known as: Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), Green tags, Renewable Energy Credits.

Reimbursement of the cost of technological connection

To increase the investment attractiveness of projects based on renewable energy sources, government agencies may provide a mechanism for partial or full compensation of the cost of technological connection of generators based on renewable sources to the network. Today, only in China do network organizations fully bear all costs of technological connection.

Fixed tariffs for renewable energy

The experience accumulated around the world allows us to speak of fixed tariffs as the most successful measures to stimulate the development of renewable energy sources. These measures to support renewable energy sources are based on three main factors:

• guarantee of network connection;
• long-term contract for the purchase of all electricity produced by renewable energy sources;
• guarantee of purchasing produced electricity at a fixed price.

Fixed tariffs for RES energy may differ not only for different sources of renewable energy, but also depending on the installed capacity of RES. One option for a support system based on fixed tariffs is the use of a fixed premium to the market price of RES energy. As a rule, a premium to the price of produced electricity or a fixed tariff is paid over a fairly long period (10-20 years), thereby guaranteeing the return of investments made in the project and making a profit.

Net metering system

This support measure provides for the possibility of measuring the electricity supplied to the network and the further use of this value in mutual settlements with the electricity supply organization. Under a “net metering system,” the owner of a renewable energy source receives a retail credit for an amount equal to or greater than the electricity generated. In accordance with the law, in many countries, electricity supply organizations are required to provide consumers with the opportunity to carry out net metering.

Investments

Globally, in 2008, $51.8 billion was invested in wind energy, $33.5 billion in solar energy and $16.9 billion in biofuels. In 2008, European countries invested $50 billion in alternative energy, American countries - $30 billion, China - $15.6 billion, India - $4.1 billion.

In 2009, investment in renewable energy worldwide was $160 billion, and in 2010 - $211 billion. In 2010, $94.7 billion was invested in wind energy, $26.1 billion in solar energy and $11 billion in energy production technologies from biomass and waste.

see also

Notes

Links

• You and “green” energy, section of the World Wildlife Fund website

In recent decades, qualitative changes have been observed in the global energy sector due to economic, political and technological reasons. One of the main trends is a decrease in the consumption of fuel resources - their share in global electricity production over the past 30 years has decreased from 75% to 68% in favor of the use of renewable resources (an increase from 0.6% to 3.0%).

The leading countries in the development of energy production from non-traditional sources are Iceland (renewable energy sources account for about 5% of energy, geothermal sources are mainly used), Denmark (20.6%, the main source is wind energy), Portugal (18.0 %, the main sources are wave, solar and wind energy), Spain (17.7%, the main source is solar energy) and New Zealand (15.1%, mainly geothermal and wind energy is used).

The world's largest consumers of renewable energy are Europe, North America and Asian countries.

China, the US, Germany, Spain and India have almost three-quarters of the world's wind power fleet. Among the countries characterized by the best development of small hydropower, China occupies the leading position, Japan is in second place, and the United States is in third place. The top five is completed by Italy and Brazil.

In the overall structure of installed capacity of solar energy facilities, Europe leads, followed by Japan and the USA. India, Canada, Australia, as well as South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Israel and Morocco have high potential for the development of solar energy.

The United States retains its leadership in the geothermal power industry. Then come the Philippines and Indonesia, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. Geothermal energy is actively developing in Mexico, Central America and Iceland - where 99% of all energy costs are covered by geothermal sources. Multiple volcanic zones have promising sources of superheated water, including Kamchatka, the Kuril, Japanese and Philippine Islands, and vast areas of the Cordillera and Andes.

According to numerous expert opinions, the global renewable energy market will continue to develop successfully, and by 2020 the share of renewable energy sources in electricity production in Europe will be about 20%, and the share of wind energy in electricity production in the world will be about 10%.

1. Use of renewable energy sources in Russia

Russia occupies one of the leading places in the global system of energy resources circulation, actively participates in global trade in them and in international cooperation in this area. The country’s position in the global hydrocarbon market is especially significant. At the same time, the country is practically not represented in the global energy market based on renewable energy sources.

The total installed capacity of electricity generating plants and power plants using renewable energy sources in Russia currently does not exceed 2,200 MW.

Using renewable energy sources, no more than 8.5 billion kWh of electrical energy is generated annually, which is less than 1% of the total electricity production. The share of renewable energy sources in the total volume of supplied thermal energy is no more than 3.9%.

The structure of energy production based on renewable energy sources in Russia differs significantly from the global one. In Russia, the resources of thermal power plants using biomass are most actively used (the share in electricity generation is 62.1%, in thermal energy production - at least 23% in thermal power plants and 76.1% in boiler houses), while the global level of use of biothermal power plants is 12%. At the same time, in Russia almost no wind and solar energy resources are used, but about a third of electricity generation comes from small hydroelectric power plants (versus 6% in the world).

World experience shows that the initial impetus for the development of renewable energy, especially in countries rich in traditional sources, should be given by the state. In Russia, there is practically no support for this sector of the energy industry.

Renewable energy sources (RES) are those resources that people can use without causing harm to the environment.

Energy using renewable sources is called “alternative energy” (in relation to traditional sources - gas, oil products, coal), which indicates minimal harm to the environment.

The advantages of using renewable energy sources (RES) are associated with the environment, reproducibility (inexhaustibility) of resources, as well as the possibility of obtaining energy in hard-to-reach places where the population lives.

The disadvantages of renewable energy sources often include the low efficiency of energy generation technologies using such resources (at the current time), insufficient capacity for industrial energy consumption, the need for large areas for planting “green crops”, the presence of increased noise and vibration levels (for wind energy), as well as the difficulties of mining rare earth metals (for solar energy).

The use of renewable energy sources is related to local renewable resources and government policies.

Successful examples include geothermal plants providing energy, heating and hot water to Icelandic cities; solar battery farms in California (USA) and the UAE; wind power “farms” in Germany, the USA and Portugal.

For energy generation in Russia, taking into account the experience of use, territories, climate and availability of renewable energy sources, the most promising are: low-power hydroelectric power stations, solar energy (especially promising in the Southern Federal District) and wind energy (Baltic coast, Southern Federal District).

A promising source of renewable energy, but requiring professional technological development, is household waste and methane gas produced in storage areas.

Until recently, for a number of reasons, primarily due to the huge reserves of traditional energy raw materials, relatively little attention was paid to the development of the use of renewable energy sources in Russia's energy policy. In recent years, the situation has begun to change noticeably. The need to fight for a better environment, new opportunities to improve people’s quality of life, participation in the global development of advanced technologies, the desire to increase the energy efficiency of economic development, the logic of international cooperation - these and other considerations contributed to the intensification of national efforts to create greener energy and move towards a low-carbon economy.

The volume of technically available renewable energy resources in the Russian Federation is at least 24 billion tons of standard fuel.

In recent decades, the use of renewable energy sources has increasingly become the topic of various scientific studies, meetings, and assemblies. People are coming to understand that by extracting resources for ourselves, we are causing irreversible harm to the planet. And with the development of technological progress, humanity needs more and more energy. If a couple of decades ago, experimental installations that converted wind or solar energy into electrical and thermal energy caused sarcastic smiles, now these resources have already become widespread and have become quite commonplace.

But not everyone knows that the designs of many modern devices use technologies that use non-traditional and renewable energy sources. For example, Bosh manufacturers produce heating and hot water boilers and have created several models that are connected to solar collectors. As a result of this step, the efficiency of the boilers increased by 110%. It turns out that the atmosphere receives much less harm in the form of natural gas combustion products, and people receive significant savings due to a reduction in gas consumption, and therefore, in payments for it.

The benefits of economical devices powered by renewable energy sources are clear, and now scientists and industrialists face the main task of conducting the most extensive information campaign that would lead humanity to the choice of environmentally friendly technologies.

What is renewable energy

Renewable energy goes by several other names. This is “regenerative energy” and “green energy”, that is, energy that is produced by natural sources, and its extraction does not harm the environment at all. The reserves of such energy are inexhaustible, their size is unlimited, judging by the standards of humanity.

It is absolutely impossible to correlate the foreseeable future of people and, for example, the lifespan of the sun. Just recently, scientists published the number of years they derived, after which the sun will completely go out. This is 5 billion years. I really want to believe that life on Earth will flourish all this time, and that people will live and be healthy. But we can already assume that the number of people on the planet will grow, as it is now. They will need cheap energy resources. Renewable energy technologies will be the only way out in this matter, provided that the planet, its riches of flora and fauna, climatic diversity, landscape beauty, clean air, water, land and subsoil are preserved.

That is why technologies for producing energy using wind, sun, rain, geothermal sources, rivers, seas and oceans, etc. are already so widely welcomed. All these are renewable energy sources. No matter how much a person uses such energy, it will never run out. The wind will always blow, causing ebbs and flows, rivers will always spin the blades of hydraulic turbines with their power, solar collectors will provide heat in residential buildings and large institutions.

Energy efficiency and energy saving in Russia

These two directions are included in the overall strategic development plan for Russia; they were outlined back in 2010. It is truly beneficial for the state that renewable energy sources are actually used in Russia. If the plant consumes cheap and easily obtained energy, the cost of production will decrease. At the same time, the price of goods in the store will decrease, creating a reduction in social tension, and the overall profit of the enterprise will increase. This means that new jobs will be created, new technologies will be developed and the level of funds transferred by the enterprise in the form of taxes will significantly increase.

If a private home owner switches to consuming renewable energy, then the state will again benefit greatly from this step. Firstly, he will purchase the latest equipment, which is not cheap at present. Secondly, a person will not require central communications to be brought to his home. And thirdly, the impact on the environment will be reduced to a minimum, therefore, the state will spend much less money on environmental protection measures.

The motives for the whole of Russia are clear; the most difficult thing remains - to teach Russian citizens to reason not only based on their own costs, but also from the standpoint of saving natural resources. It is necessary to convey to the population that renewable and non-renewable energy sources can have different effects not only on well-being, but also on the health and life expectancy of a nation.

Oil, gas, peat, coal - all these are familiar, effective, but non-renewable resources. Yes, if we consider the issue from the perspective of those living today and even their children and grandchildren, then all this will be enough for our century. But air pollution occurs for the most part precisely by the combustion products of these resources, and diseases from dirty air (asthma, allergies, immune deficiency, heart disease, cancer, etc.) are already a problem for those living today.

The use of renewable energy sources not only reduces the cost of production and consumption, but also cleans the atmosphere and improves our health. And this is also a huge benefit for the state, because a healthy society is a guarantor of high economic indicators, achievements in science, culture and art, etc.

Scientists note that our country has enormous potential for developing the use of energy-saving technologies. We can achieve 40% of total energy consumption. That is, 40% of energy will be produced using renewable sources. This is 400 million t.e. For reference: 1 t.u.t. – is the heat of combustion of 1 kilogram of standard fuel. That is, we can replace 400 million kilograms of fuel per year with alternative sources, which is expensive and produces harmful emissions. This is renewable energy in Russia, and if we talk about the world as a whole, then this figure is 20 billion t.e. in year! This is more than half of all fuel and energy resources.

The Russian government has developed a number of documents that define the regulations for the introduction of energy efficient technologies in our country. Their effect is calculated until 2030.

The opinion of economic analysts on the topic of introducing technologies using renewable energy sources in Russia is very interesting. They noticed that the reason for large business entities to use the latest developments, the production of environmentally friendly devices, has two motives. The primary motive is economic. If a technology brings profit to the manufacturer or user, then it is used and implemented. But improving the environment is always a secondary motive; they remember it only when profit has been successfully made. Mentality, what to do!

Renewable energy sources: global trends

A very interesting trend in this direction is striking - all types of renewable energy sources are most rapidly developing and applied in developing and poor countries. They, of course, are not close to the cost figures of advanced countries, but they are ahead in terms of development rates, and quite confidently.

In 2012, projects on renewable technologies were created and developed in 138 countries. And two thirds of this number are developing countries. The undisputed leader among them is China; in 2012, it increased the production of electricity from solar energy by 22%; according to government prices, $67 billion was received “from the sun”! A similar sharp increase in the development of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies occurred in Morocco, South Africa, Chile, Mexico, and Kenya. The Middle East and Africa have achieved brilliant results in their regions.

The UN noted that this efficient growth has ensured access to modern energy services for all countries, doubled the rate of increase in the efficiency of use of alternative energy on Earth, and there is a clear possibility that alternative energy will overtake conventional energy by 2030.

In developed countries, a number of measures are being taken to speed up the construction of renewable energy plants. In Japan, for example, those who install solar panels are entitled to preferential tariffs and subsidies for construction and installation.

Hydroelectric power stations

In these structures, electricity is generated from the energy of falling water. Therefore, such objects are built on rivers with large currents and differences in level on the ground. Besides the fact that the river never stops flowing, the generation of energy does not cause any harm to the surrounding area. The world community receives up to 20% of all electricity in this way. The leaders in this industry are countries where a large number of high-water rivers flow: Russia, Norway, Canada, China, Brazil, and the USA.

Biofuels

Biofuels are a wide variety of renewable energy sources. These are waste from various industries: woodworking, agriculture. And simply household garbage is a valuable source of energy. Also, waste from construction, deforestation, paper production, farms, waste from city landfills and naturally produced methane are used in the production of alternative energy.

Recently, more and more information has appeared in the press that sources that previously could not even supposedly be such sources are becoming fuel. This is farm manure, this is rotten grass, this is vegetable and animal oil. A little diesel fuel is added to the products processed from these sources, and then used for its intended purpose - to refuel cars! The emissions of such fuel are many times less toxic, which is especially important in megacities. Now scientists are developing a recipe and technology for producing biofuels without adding diesel.

Wind

Windmill technology has been known since ancient times. It was only in the 70s of the last century that people began to invent windmills as sources of alternative energy. The first wind power plants were created. Already in the 80s of the 20th century, whole rows of generators began to appear in villages that converted wind energy into electrical energy. Now the leaders in the number of such power plants are Germany, Denmark, Spain, the USA, India and the same progressive China. A distinctive feature of the installation of such structures is that their cost is not at all low. A wind turbine does not pay for itself very quickly, and the construction of wind farms requires initial investment.

Geothermal energy

Geothermal power plants operate on the heat of natural hot springs, they convert it into electrical energy and supply the living quarters of nearby settlements with hot water. The first such power plant was put into operation in Italy in 1904. Moreover, it still works and quite successfully! Now such stations have been built in 72 countries around the world, with the USA, Philippines, Iceland, Kenya, and Russia leading the way.

Ocean

The tides in the coastal areas of the ocean are so strong that their currents can generate quite a large amount of energy. The dam separates the upper and lower pools; when the water moves, the turbine blades rotate, which drives the electricity generator. The scheme is simple, like everything related to renewable energy sources. There are only 40 such stations on the planet, because in few places nature has met the basic requirement - a level difference in pools of 5 meters. Tidal stations have been built in France, Canada, China, India, and Russia.

Recently, the technology of “passive cooling and heating” has become increasingly popular. Thanks to it, there is absolutely no need to heat or cool the living space, therefore, environmentally friendly energy is obtained from the internal resources of the house itself. The technology includes the correct architectural solution, compliance with the size of windows and the slope of canopies, the structure of walls and ceilings, as well as the use of internal fans and trees planted near the house. A very interesting and efficient technology, tested in more than one residential building.

A few words about the future

The future today seems a little naive, just as solar panels and wind power plants once seemed ridiculous. Today, scientists predict the development of hydrogen fuel technology, the energy of fusion of hydrogen atoms into a helium atom with a huge release of energy, and also plan to receive solar energy using Earth satellites and use the energy of black holes. In a word, all theories are extremely interesting. Who knows, maybe in 5-10 years all the black holes in our galaxy will work to heat our homes. The main thing is that our planet lives and is clean and safe!

Germany: Bet on renewable energy

Source: http://zvt.abok.ru/articles/148/Alternativnaya_energetika_Rossii,

One of the main trends in the modern world is an active shift in energy consumption, which is growing every day, towards the use of alternative energy sources.

There have also been positive changes in Russia. Thus, a turning point in the Russian history of alternative energy can be called the entry into force of a Government decree aimed at stimulating the use of renewable energy sources in the wholesale electricity and capacity market.

Green energy, using inexhaustible “reserves” of energy from the sun, wind, rivers, geothermal energy and thermal energy from constantly renewable biomass*, has today become the subject of discussion at all important political meetings and forums.

* The article is devoted only to three sectors of renewable energy sources: solar, wind energy and small hydropower. The bioenergy sector is very vast and deserves a separate topic for consideration.

Every year, green energy provides an increasing part of the energy resource needs of the world's leading economies. Essentially, today we are witnessing the construction of a new global energy paradigm, which involves the decisive contribution of renewable energy sources (RES) to total energy consumption and the gradual displacement of traditional fossil energy resources. According to the energy strategy adopted by the EU, by 2020 the member countries of the Commonwealth must ensure a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, an increase in the share of renewable energy to 20% and a 20% increase in energy efficiency. In the longer term, many countries are going much further. In particular, Germany plans to achieve a 60% share of renewable energy sources in the country’s overall energy balance and 80% in electricity production by 2050.

Wind, solar energy and biofuel production are the fastest growing sectors of modern industry, the development of which has attracted the entire scientific and technical potential of the leading countries of the world. Under these conditions, the discussion about the economic feasibility of active development of renewable energy sources in the Russian Federation is transformed into an awareness of the political inevitability of movement in the direction of alternative energy. Relying only on hydrocarbon fuels threatens the country with the prospect of a significant technological lag behind the world's leading countries in the energy sector that is fundamental to the economy and, as a consequence, the loss of Russia's leading position in the global economy. That is why in recent years, despite Russia’s full supply of traditional energy resources, there has been a positive change in the attitude of the Russian state and business towards alternative types of energy.

Legislation and support for renewable energy sources. Russia's special path

It is no secret that due to the high cost of renewable energy sources, their rapid development in the leading countries of the world in the last decade became possible only thanks to financial support from states. Currently, in world practice, there are several mechanisms to support electricity generation projects based on renewable energy sources. The most popular of them are two: feed-in tariffs and green certificates. In the first case, the state guarantees the purchase of electricity from renewable energy sources from producers at special, higher tariffs. They are installed for a specific facility using alternative energy sources for 20–25 years, which ensures good profitability of such projects. In the second case, upon selling electricity generated from renewable energy sources on the free market, the manufacturer receives a special confirming certificate (a similar scheme operates, for example, in Sweden and Norway), which can subsequently be sold. The state ensures the demand for such certificates by introducing legislative requirements for the share of renewable energy sources in the country's energy sector, including benefits for companies using renewable energy sources and fines for “dirty” companies.

Both mechanisms stimulate the final producers of green energy, while ensuring high market demand for equipment for renewable energy sources and, accordingly, the competitive development of enterprises producing it. All this guarantees the attraction of new technologies into the industry and the struggle of manufacturers for low costs.

As a result, the active growth of alternative energy in past years, the effects of scaling and technological improvement of production in the industry have led to a significant reduction in the cost of renewable energy sources and the achievement of network parity in an increasing number of regions of the world (a state of parity in the cost of energy obtained from conventional sources and alternative ones). Nevertheless, government assistance is still required to stimulate the start of the development of renewable energy industries in new markets, especially in countries that do not have an urgent need for energy resources.

Over the past years, Russia has been looking for its own way to support renewable energy sources, the need for which is determined by the specific features of the domestic energy market. A distinctive feature of the Russian electricity market is the scheme of RAO UES of Russia, which involves the simultaneous functioning of two mechanisms for trading electricity: the sale of electricity itself (its physically generated volumes) and the sale of capacity. The sale of power is carried out through power supply agreements (PDAs), which stipulate, on the one hand, the obligation of the electricity supplier to keep generating equipment ready to generate electricity of established quality in the amount necessary to meet the consumer’s electricity needs, and on the other hand, a guarantee payment for power by the consumer.

After futile attempts to stimulate the development of renewable energy sources in Russia through surcharges to the market price of electricity, on May 28, 2013, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted Resolution No. 449 “On the mechanism for stimulating the use of renewable energy sources in the wholesale electricity and capacity market.” The developers of this resolution tried to ensure maximum integration of the mechanism for supporting renewable energy sources into the specific architecture of the electricity market existing in the country. Support for renewable energy sources (provided for three types: solar, wind energy and small hydropower) is carried out through renewable energy supply agreements - power supply agreements, modified taking into account the characteristics of renewable energy sources. Changes made to the standard CSA ensure the operation of renewable energy facilities according to rules similar to those that apply to power generation facilities operating in forced mode.

There are contradictions in the very fact of using the CSA mechanism (which, in essence, is a trade in guarantees) to sell unstable, weather-dependent alternative energy.

Attempts to implement this mechanism are already revealing a lot of problems. Local network operators do not always correctly understand the specifics of the new legislation, which leads to an unreasonable requirement for the owners of generating facilities to provide a guarantee of supply of the required power.

It takes time for all participants in the renewable energy market to adapt to new conditions. Clarifications from legislators to local operators and the development of additional by-laws will be required.

According to current legislation, RES in Russia will be supported within the framework of annual quotas (target parameters) allocated for each type of RES for the period until 2020 (Table 1). The selection of investment projects for the construction of generating facilities based on renewable energy sources is carried out at specialized competitions, where maximum levels of capital costs are established. The main condition for receiving maximum financial assistance from the state is the requirement of localization, i.e., ensuring that part of the equipment for the project is produced within the country. This requirement not only reflects the state’s desire to stimulate the use of alternative energy, but also defines it as a priority task for the development of the industry as a whole, involving the enormous scientific and technological potential of the Russian economy.

The legislation provides for strict localization requirements (Table 2). All facilities in each renewable energy sector that have received government support must be at least 50% based on Russian equipment.

Milder conditions apply to small hydroelectric power plants (SHPPs). In 2014–2015, a 20% localization requirement is in force, but this is rather a virtual option, since, taking into account the specifics of the sector, the first facilities will appear no earlier than 2016–2017, when the 45% localization requirement comes into effect.

The first competition for selecting renewable energy projects for 2014–2017 was held from August to September 2013. Its results are largely assessed by experts as a failure. The main reason is that the participants were given too little time to prepare for the competition, which was held just three months after the adoption of the relevant resolution. Many companies simply did not manage to fulfill all the conditions for submitting applications in time.

Current state of renewable energy sources in Russia

Renewable energy is taking its first steps in Russia. In fact, the only area of ​​alternative energy in the country that has achieved significant results in recent years is the biofuel industry, in particular the production of wood pellets. Russia is the leading supplier of these products to European markets.

In the production of electricity based on renewable energy sources, only hydropower has achieved significant development, which accounts for up to 16 % of the country’s energy balance. However, here too, green power plants, i.e., those that have minimal impact on the SHPP ecosystem (with a capacity of up to 30 MW), make up a negligible part, while most of them were built in Soviet times. The solar and wind power sectors today are almost at the zero (starting) level.

Small hydropower

Small hydroelectric power plants (by international standards - hydroelectric power stations with a capacity of up to 25–30 MW) were the most important source of electricity for the national economy of the USSR in the first half of the last century. In the 1950s, there were about 6,500 SHPPs in the USSR (most in Russia) with a total capacity of more than 320 MW, which generated a quarter of the electricity consumed in rural areas. The subsequent centralization of energy supply led to an almost complete abandonment of small hydropower.

In the new millennium, SHPPs are again gaining popularity in the Russian Federation, and the development of this industry is going in two possible ways: the restoration of outdated abandoned SHPPs and the construction of new ones. The energy potential of Russian small rivers is of interest from the point of view of replacing imported energy resources in remote rural regions of the country.

Today, the small hydropower industry in Russia, after a long period of oblivion, is only taking its first steps, as evidenced by the competition for selecting renewable energy investment projects, held last year. In the SHPP sector, the competition failed because not a single project was submitted. The reasons are the uncertainty of the power certification procedures and confirmation of the degree of equipment localization. The specifics of small hydropower and the lack of time to prepare documents also played an important role in the failure of the competition. The above-mentioned resolution should provide the legislative framework for intensifying the process of development of the small hydropower industry in Russia in the near future.

Currently, there are about 300 SHPPs operating in Russia with a total capacity of about 1,300 MW. The main player in the small hydroelectric power station market is the company JSC RusHydro, which unites more than 70 renewable energy facilities. The organization has developed programs for the construction of small hydropower plants, which involve the construction of 384 stations with a total capacity of 2.1 GW. In the next few years in Russia we can expect the commissioning of new small hydropower capacities in the amount of 50–60 MW of installed capacity annually.

Wind energy

Over the past decade, wind energy has consistently held the global leadership among new renewable energy technologies. By the end of 2013, the total installed capacity of wind power plants (WPPs) in the world exceeded 320 GW.

RICE. 1. HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORLD WIND ENERGY MARKET. GROWTH IN THE TOTAL NUMBER OF INSTALLATIONS IN 1997–2012, MW (According to WWEA DATA)

Russia, thanks to its vast territory covering several climatic zones, has the world's largest potential for wind power generation (estimated at 260 billion kWh of electricity per year, which is about 30 % of the current electricity production of all power plants in the country).

It should be noted that most of the most “wind-rich” regions of Russia are areas remote from the main power generating capacities of the country. These include Kamchatka, the Magadan region, Chukotka, Sakhalin, Yakutia, Buryatia, Taimyr, etc. They generally do not have their own fossil energy resources, and the distance from main power lines and transport energy oil and gas pipelines makes it economically unjustified to connect the regions to centralized energy supply . In fact, the only constant source of electricity in remote areas of Russia are diesel generators running on expensive imported fuel. The electricity produced with their help has an extremely high cost (20–40 rubles per 1 kWh). In such regions, the construction of wind farms as the main source of electricity supply is economically profitable even without any financial support from the state.

Despite the unconditional economic feasibility of using wind power plants in many remote regions of the country, the development of wind energy (on the scale of total power generation) is currently at almost zero level. There are just over 10 wind farms operating in the country, with a total installed capacity of just 16.8 MW. These are all outdated wind farms using low-power wind generators. For comparison, we note that in neighboring Ukraine, which currently has no shortage of electricity, the total installed capacity of wind farms has reached 400 MW, with 80% of the capacity installed over the past two years.

Wind farms are often built in the coastal strip of seas and oceans, where
the winds constantly blow

The largest wind farm in Russia is currently the Kulikovskaya (Zelenogradskaya) wind farm, owned by the Yantarenergo company. It was built in the Kaliningrad region between 1998 and 2002. The power plant with a total capacity of 5.1 MW consists of 21 wind generators, of which 20 units with a capacity of 225 kW each were received as a grant from the Danish government from SEAS Energi ServiceA. S. Before installation at the Kulikovskaya wind farm, the wind turbines served in the Danish wind farm for about eight years Noysomehead Wind Farm.

In the first competition of investment projects for the construction of power generation facilities based on renewable energy sources in the wind energy segment, only one company took part - Complex Industry LLC, which submitted only seven equal projects with an installed capacity of 15 MW each. The company's total planned capital expenditures for the implementation of all projects are about 6.8 billion rubles. The average planned installation cost of 1 kW of installed capacity of a wind farm is 64,918.3 rubles. All of the company's projects passed both rounds without changes and were selected for implementation.

There are no projects planned for 2014–2015. Only one project (the Aksarayskaya wind farm in the Astrakhan region) is planned to be commissioned in 2016. The remaining six projects will be commissioned in 2017. In total, two projects will be implemented in the Astrakhan and Orenburg regions and three projects in the Ulyanovsk region.

Industry participants today are simply not ready for such a rapid implementation of large-scale wind farm projects, including due to the need to fulfill the requirement for localization of production.

Solar energy

Solar energy ranks first in the world among all types of renewable energy sources in terms of popularity and development dynamics.

RICE. 2. HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORLD PHOTOVOLTAICS MARKET. GROWTH IN THE TOTAL NUMBER OF INSTALLATIONS IN 2000–2012, MW (according to EPIA DATA)

In Russia, this area of ​​energy is the least developed among alternative energy sources. The country has no more than 3 MW of total installed capacity of solar power plants (SPP), and these are mainly power generating systems with a unit capacity ranging from a few to tens of kilowatts. Over 90 % of all installations are made by small and medium-sized businesses, less than 10 % by private households. In many cases, such systems provide autonomous power supply to objects remote from the central power grid and work in conjunction with diesel generators.

The largest operating solar energy facilities in Russia as of September 2013 were two power plants of approximately the same capacity (100 kW). The first industrial-scale grid solar power plant in Russia was put into operation in October 2010 near the Krapivenskie Dvory farmstead in the Yakovlevsky district of the Belgorod region by the AltEnergo company. At the beginning of June 2013, Russia’s first autonomous diesel-solar power plant with a capacity of 100 kW (the power of installed solar modules is 60 kW) was also put into operation in the village of Yailyu, Turochaksky district, Altai Republic. Tandem-type thin-film photovoltaic modules for solar power plants are developed based on a-Si/µk-Si films. The equipment was produced in Russia at the Hevel company plant in Novocheboksarsk (a joint venture of the Renova group and Rusnano OJSC).

In December 2013, the first stage of Russia’s largest solar power plant, Kaspiyskaya, was launched in Dagestan. So far, 1 MW of capacity has been commissioned, but in the spring of 2014 the power plant will be brought to the planned capacity of 5 MW. The project is being implemented by the Dagestan branch of JSC RusHydro, construction is being carried out by the company MEK-Engineering. The launch of this power plant can be considered the starting point in the development of large megawatt-class solar power plants in Russia. In 2014, it is planned to complete two more SPP projects in Dagestan with a total capacity of 45 MW.

Solar energy is the only renewable energy sector in Russia in which the competition for the selection of investment projects in 2013 was held in full. The number of submitted applications exceeded the quotas allocated for the solar sector for 2014–2017 by 289 MW (according to the target parameters, this figure is 710 MW). A total of 58 applications were submitted for a total capacity of 999.2 MW. At the same time, for 2014, the volume of applications submitted exceeded the target indicators for the volumes of installed capacity commissioned by 29 %; for 2015 – by 75 %; for 2016 – by 59.5 %; for 2017 – by 12 %.

Based on the results of the competition, projects of five companies with a total capacity of 399 MW were selected (Fig. 3). However, the quota of projects specified in the target parameters is not filled, despite a wide selection. As in the wind energy and small hydropower sectors, the underfilled target quota for 2014 is burned out.

RICE. 3. DISTRIBUTION DIAGRAM OF SELECTED PROJECTS BY COMPANY

To summarize, we can say that the renewable energy sectors in Russia remain “mothballed”, although there is a positive shift and state guarantees, supported by legislation. Nevertheless, already in 2014 the first large projects for the construction of solar power plants with a total capacity of just over 35 MW will be implemented. Participants in the renewable energy market still have a long way to go, but the general outlines of this industry are already emerging in optimistic tones.

Literature

1. The Federal Government’s Energy Concept of 2010 and the Transformation of the Energy System of 2011 // Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. 2011. Oct.
2. Renewable Electricity with Green Certificates // Ministry of Sustainable Development. 2006. May.
3. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 28, 2013 No. 449 “On the mechanism for stimulating the use of renewable energy sources in the wholesale electricity and capacity market.”
4. Annual Report of the World Wind Energy Association. 2012.
5. Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics 2013–2017. European Photovoltaic Industry Association.
6. Renewable energy market in Russia – 2013: information and analytical report from IBCentre.

Note: The above article was written in 2014. This year, 2015, the Russian Ministry of Energy has developed a strategy for the energy development of Russia until 2035, which we described in one of the articles previously published on the website. However, the new strategy does not bring significant changes in the development of alternative energy compared to the situation outlined in the article by Viktor Andrienko. It seems that our country remains hopeful that its energy needs will be met primarily by fossil fuels.