Energy efficiency is losing supporters – Kommersant
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The Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Industry and Trade do not want to participate in the development of a state program to improve energy efficiency under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy. According to these ministries, the proposed measures duplicate existing strategic documents. The Ministry of Energy proposes to revise the goals of the state program, taking into account sanctions and “a change in priorities towards energy security.” Analysts estimate the cost of the state program at 20 trillion rubles. until 2035, but they fear that due to the loss of interest of line ministries, it will turn into a formal document without financial support.
Kommersant managed to get acquainted with the minutes of the meeting of the State Council working group on energy efficiency on April 18. According to the document, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Industry and Trade oppose the development of sectoral federal projects (FP) as part of the state program to improve the energy efficiency of the Russian Federation until 2035. The developer of the state program is the Ministry of Economy. The ministries believe that the OPs are redundant, since they duplicate the existing strategic documents. Only the Ministry of Construction sent its proposals to the Ministry of Economy, follows from the protocol.
The Ministry of Economy is developing a program to improve energy efficiency from 2021 on behalf of the President. Approval deadline is June 30, 2023. The program includes an industry-wide action plan, as well as industry-specific FPs that contain targets, measures to achieve them, and funding sources. The goal of the state program is to reduce the energy intensity of GDP by 35% by 2035 compared to 2019.
The electric power industry and thermal power engineering are the most energy-intensive industries. However, according to the Ministry of Energy, “the quantitative assessment of the reduction in the energy intensity of GDP and the change in the distribution of the contribution of economic sectors to this reduction require revision.” The parameters of the program need to be changed taking into account “the macroeconomic situation, restrictions and sanctions pressure, the level of energy efficiency of existing energy equipment, a change in priorities from energy efficiency to guaranteed energy security.”
At the meeting, Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Snikkars also noted that 87% of Russia’s generation comes from low-carbon sources (39% from nuclear power plants, hydroelectric power plants and renewable energy sources, and 48% from gas-fired thermal power plants). According to him, power grids are being updated in the Russian Federation, losses in them are being reduced, and thermal power plants are being modernized and built on Russian gas turbines, as a result of which “equipment is being significantly updated, their capacity, energy efficiency and environmental friendliness are increasing.”
The Ministry of Energy told Kommersant that energy efficiency remains one of the key areas, and measures to improve it are already contained in the state program “Development of Energy” and other projects of the Ministry of Energy. “The creation of a separate FI will lead to duplication of the same activities. In addition, the indicators proposed by the Ministry of Economy require updating,” they say. The Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Industry and Trade did not comment.
The Ministry of Economy confirmed to Kommersant that at a meeting of the working group of the State Council, part of the ministries spoke out against the development of individual FPs, “while there are no objections to the state program itself.” “The Ministry of Economic Development believes that sectoral measures to improve energy efficiency in the most energy-intensive industries need to be expanded,” they added, noting that a draft government decree prepared by the Ministry of Economy on approving the state program (in terms of strategic priorities and goals) is now being discussed with the departments.
The target parameter of 35% of energy intensity is calculated based on the forecast of GDP growth by 2035 and the need to achieve the indicators of the low-carbon development strategy, says Ekaterina Kvasha, Deputy Head of the CSR. Now the GDP forecast is being revised, which may affect the parameters of the state program. The year 2019 was taken as the base for a reason: 2020-2021 is not representative due to the negative effects of the pandemic, and there are no data for 2022 yet. Discussions with the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Industry and Trade continue, she noted.
The state energy efficiency program could become a driver of the economy and industry, but the loss of interest from individual ministries increases the risk that the program will be left without financial support and become another formal document, Alexander Chekrygin, a member of the expert council under the State Duma Committee on Energy, believes. The total investment for the implementation of the state program, according to his estimates, could be about 20 trillion rubles. until 2035 with a payback period of projects in the region of five years, the condition for the implementation of which may be financing with a fixed rate of 5–8% per annum.
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