The tariff reached the sun – Newspaper Kommersant No. 205 (7406) of 07.11.

Against the backdrop of rising electricity prices, it becomes profitable for small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian Federation to use solar panels even in regions with low insolation. In almost 40 regions, final energy prices exceeded 8 rubles. per 1 kWh, due to which the payback of installations was reduced to five to seven years. In the future, the trend will intensify: analysts expect an increase in energy tariffs, and panel suppliers – a multiple increase in sales. But so far, business often postpones the purchase of power plants due to the unstable economic situation. And experts and traditional energy suppliers emphasize that price is not always the main factor of choice.

“Kommersant” got acquainted with the monitoring of the final prices for electricity for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), prepared by the Association of Solar Energy Enterprises (ASE). According to their estimates, over the past year in Russia the number of regions with an average price of more than 7 rubles has doubled. per 1 kWh for consumers connected to power grids at medium voltage (already 21 regions).

The number of regions with a price of more than 8 rubles increased by a quarter. for consumers at low voltage (38 regions).

With such tariffs, the payback of solar power plants (SPS, a type of renewable energy sources, RES) is significantly reduced and savings on bill payments increase, the ASE notes.

According to the ASE, the highest electricity prices for SMEs in the country are in the Krasnodar Territory. There, the average cost of a kilowatt-hour for a consumer at low voltage in September was already 10 rubles, and at an average – 8.2 rubles. Given the good level of insolation, the region has already become one of the largest in terms of the share of SPPs among SMEs.

The regions with low insolation were also included in the rating of the highest final prices for electricity. In particular, in the Leningrad region, the average cost of electricity for consumers at low voltage already reaches 9.9 rubles, in Bryansk – 9 rubles, in Kursk – 8.9 rubles, in Tula – 8.8 rubles, in Smolensk – 8.5 rub.

“At such price levels, solar power plants pay off even in “non-solar” regions within 5–7 years, with a plant operating life of at least 25–30 years. In the Leningrad region, a 15 kW network solar power plant will pay off in 5–6 years. More powerful stations pay off even faster,” says Nikolai Popov, director of Volta Energy (the official distributor of the Hevel plant).

Now the volume of the market for commercial solar power plants in the Russian Federation is 100 MW, and is growing annually, according to ASE estimates, by 50 MW. The association hopes that rising electricity prices “may multiply these figures”.

In regions with not even the highest insolation and high tariffs, the demand for solar power plants is already growing, including due to the abolition of benefits for technological connection to networks, says Dmitry Konyaev, commercial director of Smart Energy. According to his estimates, the average price of SES is 60-70 thousand rubles. per 1 kW (about 150 thousand rubles, including storage). Mostly customers choose Chinese panels, there are no problems with importing them. “This year, a little more than 1.5 MW of solar power plants were installed, while we are behind the plan. But companies leave applications for the purchase of installations, and then take a break. The mobilization and the generally negative news background also had an effect: business cannot yet plan its activities for several years ahead, concentrating on more urgent issues,” says Dmitry Konyaev.

High inflation, rising fuel costs (gas prices will be indexed by 8.5% in December) and possible stagnation of consumption create conditions for more intensive growth of final prices and tariffs than in recent years, says Sergey Sasim from the Institute for Economics and Regulation of Infrastructure branches of the National Research University Higher School of Economics. “However, a simple comparison of the price of electricity from the grid and the generation of solar power plants is not enough to conclude that solar energy is profitable: many factors influence the choice of business, and electricity prices are not the main reason for switching to own generation,” he believes. for its own generation only leads to higher prices for the rest. Although in the current situation, electricity prices are the least of all hindering the development of business in the Russian Federation.”

SES, even at comparable prices, does not always outperform other types of generation, they add in the Community of Energy Consumers. Considering alternatives to expensive energy supply from the general network, they explain there, companies are guided by price and uninterrupted operation, according to which their own fuel generation is still more attractive than RES.

Polina Smertina