Ministry of Economic Development presented a new plan to reduce energy losses in the Russian economy
The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia has prepared an updated plan for improving energy efficiency, presenting a new goal of reducing the energy intensity of GDP by 2030 which is 35% of the level of 2017 due to modern technologies in the energy sector, transport, housing and communal services.
The new plan was prepared with the participation of public agencies and regions, as well as business and the expert community. It is focused primarily on "improving the energy efficiency of the most energy-intensive economy sectors and the public sector," the ministry explained.
It is noted that the plan is synchronized with the strategy of long-term low-carbon development and should become the main instrument for achieving the climatic goals of the Russian Federation according to the "baseline scenario". "The new goal for the Russian Federation in the field of reducing energy intensity for 2030 is about 35% reduction in energy intensity from the level of 2017 as a whole (or about 42% of the level of 2009), more than half of the effect (20%) should be provided by the technological factor," informs the publication.
According to the publication, the plan includes six blocks of measures - in the electric power sector, industry, energy-efficient materials, housing and communal services, heat supply and transport, the budgetary sphere is allocated separately. The "zero" stage of the plan is the introduction of 100% instrumental metering (including automatic data collection). The main instrument in the energy sector is called "modernization of generating facilities", including the introduction of highly efficient combined-cycle technologies at power plants and promotion of cogeneration.
According to the newspaper, the plan also proposes supplementing the guides of the best available technologies (BAT) and the EAEU regulations with limit indicators of energy efficiency, updating the requirements for building materials, overhaul and new construction of apartment buildings, stimulating supply and demand in the energy-efficient housing market, reducing losses in heating networks, updating fleet of buses and trucks. In addition, the plan includes a number of proposals for the development of green financing - including through energy service tools, soft loans, state support for energy efficient goods and technologies.
The law on energy efficiency was adopted in the Russian Federation in 2009 and prescribed a decrease in the energy intensity of Russian GDP by 40% by 2020, but since 2015 budget support for energy efficiency projects has been phased out, emphasizes the publication. By 2017, the authorities admitted that the goal will most likely not be achieved, the publication continues, while the Ministry of Economy developed the first version of the new plan. At the end of 2019, the ministry published a report on energy efficiency, which indicated that over the past 10 years, the energy intensity of Russia's GDP has decreased by 9%, of which the energy intensity of GDP has not decreased over the past 4 years.