Eco-friendly transport and wind energy: Sberbank on new technologies for transforming megacities

German Gref spoke about promising directions for cities of the future at the Russian Energy Week (REW) in Moscow

Cities are becoming smarter, more sustainable and more comfortable to live in, but the main scale of their changes is on the way to transforming into “metropolises of the future” ahead. But how exactly does energy influence the development of future cities? What technologies and innovative solutions in the fuel and energy sector are in demand in modern cities? What to bet on: wind, solar or coal? German Gref, President and Chairman of the Board of Sberbank PJSC, spoke about this on the sidelines of Russian Energy Week (REW).

“What seems like pampering today can become promising tomorrow,” stressed Sberbank CEO German Gref. — Coal, which was predicted to soon disappear from the scene as a source of energy generation, is becoming the most in-demand resource. For this reason, it is best to bet on all “horses” at once. Some will come first, some will come second. Then you can make a choice.”

He emphasized that Russia has its own cheap energy and until Russia aligns other sources of generation with gas, there is no point in investing massively in alternative options.

“At the same time, we need to spend money on research in this area and maintain a certain level of competencies so that at any time when a technological shift occurs, we do not find ourselves lagging behind,” Gref emphasized.

Meanwhile, the head of Sberbank emphasized that some regions are already successfully using wind and solar energy. Take, for example, the southern part of Russia or Altai, where 320-350 solar panels are installed. So, alternative generation sources are very appropriate there.

The moderator of the session “Creating a city of the future”, President of the Global Energy Association Sergei Brilev, asked the head of Sberbank how he sees the smart city of the future? Gref divided such cities into three types. The first is corporate smart cities. Let’s take SberCity as an example – this is a smart city project of Sberbank, which the financial giant is positioning as “part of a new turnkey district of Moscow.” Gref states that more than 65 and 70 thousand people will live and work in SberCity, respectively. A district is being built on an area of ​​461 hectares in Rublevo-Arkhangelskoye in the Western Administrative District of Moscow, 3 km from the Moscow Ring Road. The second type is new cities that the government builds. The third and largest part is historical cities and settlements that are beginning to transform the entire economy and environment, introducing smart solutions and turning these cities into modern megacities (Moscow, Barcelona, ​​Singapore, etc.).

“Everyone is trying to introduce new technologies, but if we talk about Moscow, there is nothing in the world that we have not implemented in the Russian capital. The whole range of technologies, continues Gref. — Energy can serve as both a driver of economic development and a brake. If there is no energy, it is difficult to develop the territory of the complex. States and large cities are trying to create the entire infrastructure for this. In Moscow we have fully distributed energy. All generation occurs internally, which will further help ensure energy-saving mode. In many ways, this helps avoid price volatility. We have not seen the comprehensive implementation of this solution in other cities.”