Russian
company RAO ES East will construct 178 renewable energy facilities with
a total capacity of 146 MW within the coming five to seven years at the
country’s Far East and close to the Artic Circle, according to a
statement of the company’s management. Implementation of the program
will require about RUB 20 billion ($350 million), but the investments
will shortly pay itself as the project will save up to RUB 2.06 billion
($30 million) per year on the supplies of fuel to the remote cities and
villages in the country. The target plan is to bring the level of
alternative sources in the total structure of energy supply of the Far
East to 40 percent.
Projects Will Speed Up
Russian state-owned company RAO ES East is responsible for the power
supply of the Far East regions with low population density and weak
network connections. It manages the power systems of hundreds of
villages surrounded by tundra and taiga only, most of which are isolated
from the general power supply system of the East. According to official
information, they get power from 500 diesel power plants with a total
capacity of 670 MW.
Cost of energy production there can reach up to RUB 100 ($1.5) per
kWh. Annually, that requires 140,000 tonnes of diesel fuel worth RUB 6.3
billion ($ 90 million). The cost of imported fuel is RUB 45,000 ($800)
per tonne, and it is gradually growing together with the tariffs on
railway transportation. According to the management of RAO ES East, the
company already made the first moves towards the development of
renewable energy sources in the region. The current economical crisis in
Russia will speed up the process.
“In 2012-2015, RAO ES East has commissioned eight solar plants and three wind power
generation facility,” RAO ES East Deputy Director General Alexei Kaplun
said. “In general, the implementation of the program will let us to
save up to RUB 2.06 billion ($30 million). These funds will be used for
the return on investment in renewable energy facilities, while after
that become an effective tool constraining the rise of tariffs on
renewable energy.”
Kaplun added that the approach to renewables will not only reduce the
amount spent on fuel purchasing, but also will cut the amount spent on
subsidies for transportation of fuel to the remote areas.
According to RAO ES East, to ensure payback and attract investors, it
is necessary to fix the current tariff of diesel generation by 10-15
years, while in some cases for only seven to 10 years. RAO ES East is
already in negotiations with a number of Asian and European suppliers of
equipment for projects. However, so far the company has to discuss the
issue of tariffs separately with the regulators of each region of the
Russian Far East.
First Projects Already Implemented
RAO ES East already launched several projects in the area of
renewable energy. The first solar power station has been launched near
the Batagai village in the Verkhoyansk area of the Sakha Republic
(Yakutia). The station, the first stage of which was built this summer,
has become the most powerful solar plant in the world above the Arctic
Circle. So far, its capacity reached only 1 MW, but the project involves
increasing the installed capacity up to 4 MW.
“In general we are planning to build other small sun power plants in
Yakutia in a bunch-forming way: constructing the same facilities with
the same capacity, thus reducing the costs of equipment and logistics,
as well as reducing the time of construction through the effective use
of technology and human resources,” Kaplun said. “When the plants will
be running, uniformity and proximity of the projects within the bunch
will let us save on maintenance and equipment stocks.”
The most active introduction of wind-diesel systems is already
underway in Kamchatka, where many communities are also isolated from the
major energy sources.
“Today, on the Kamchatka Peninsula, we have some of the highest
electricity tariffs in the Far East,” Vladimir Ilyuhin, governor of
Kamchatka Krai, said. “Firstly [the tariffs are] affected with the high
cost of diesel fuel, which has to be brought to the region and, of
course, the cost of delivery itself.”
The total capacity of the wind power plants should amount to 16 MW,
with the first one already launched on the Bering Island. The plant can
save up to 50 percent of fuel for power generation of the island. The
same project will be implemented in eight remote territories of the
region, according to officials. The details of other projects are still
developing, RAO ES East said.
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