The Ministry of energy of the Russian Federation proposes to improve mechanisms for supporting renewable energy projects in retail markets

The Ministry of energy of the Russian Federation has developed and submitted to the Government of the Russian Federation a package of regulatory changes aimed at improving the mechanisms for supporting renewable energy projects in retail markets.
The Ministry offers a comprehensive approach to the selection and implementation of projects for the construction of renewable energy generation in retail markets, including:
* transition to technology-neutral selections, in which projects for the construction of renewable energy generation compete, regardless of the technology used for generating electricity according to the criterion of the minimum price of electricity from RES, which will reduce the price burden on consumers in the region;
• formation of the price for electric energy of renewable energy generation facilities based on the price in the application submitted by the investor for competitive selection, but not above the approved limit, and not at regulated tariffs. Thus, the investor receives a guaranteed price for electricity for the entire period of investment project payback (15 years) and, consequently, the ability to compete on the criterion of minimum prices for electric energy, which together with the principle of the technology-neutral selection promotes competition among investors and gives the introduction of the most effective for the region, projects of construction of RES-generation;
* establishment of uniform rules for competitive selection of projects for the construction of renewable energy generation for all regions, based on the results of which lists of projects planned for implementation will be formed, indicating the annual volume of electricity supply by renewable energy generation facilities and prices for electricity produced by them;
* establishing the obligation of network organizations to conclude contracts for the purchase and sale of electricity in order to compensate for losses with the winners of selections before the start of the investment project, which makes it easier to attract debt financing for the project;
* establishing requirements for the minimum share of non-renewable energy sources for renewable energy generation facilities using combined fuels. This approach increases the investment attractiveness of renewable energy projects involving the use of traditional fuels at acceptable volumes, without compromising economic performance of such projects, and also possible to eliminate the need to provide certificates confirming production volume of electrical energy in RES-generation for sale of electricity grid companies to compensate losses;
* reducing the list of documents provided for the qualification of a renewable energy generation facility, including eliminating the need to provide project documentation for facilities that use only renewable energy sources, as well as reducing the time for qualifying a renewable energy generation facility.
The Russian Ministry of energy believes that these innovations can provide incentives for the widespread introduction of renewable energy facilities with a capacity of less than 25 MW in retail markets, which will increase the reliability of electricity supply by diversifying energy sources, give an impetus to the development of innovative activity and the introduction of new types of generation adapted to local realities, and will also contribute to achieving the goals of the Paris agreement and the sustainable development Goals set by the UN General Assembly.