Open AccessCONVENTIONAL AND NEW SMALL POWER GENERATION IN THE NORTHERN REGIONS OF RUSSIA.
Author(s) -
Larisa V. Chajka
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
sever i rynok: formirovanie èkonomičeskogo porâdka
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2220-802X
DOI - 10.37614/2220-802x.1.2021.71.002
Subject(s) - modernization theory , renewable energy , incentive , electricity generation , energy supply , investment (military) , resource (disambiguation) , electricity , business , environmental economics , natural resource economics , power (physics) , economics , energy (signal processing) , economic growth , engineering , computer science , market economy , political science , computer network , statistics , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , politics , law , electrical engineering
For the North and Arctic regions of Russia the task of the small power generation development is important because there are large areas of expensive decentralized electricity supply (DES) and difficult living conditions. In studying the processes of the small energy development, it is important to detail regional features and economic conditions that determine competitiveness of promising types of energy sources. The article presents the analysis results of the DES of the Russia northern territories on the example of three regions: the Republic of Komi, the Arkhangelsk region, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The analysis aim is to determine the existing prerequisites and barriers to active development of the small power generation in the North. On the basis of the detailed energy-economic indicators and the received generalizations, options for improving the efficiency of autonomous energy supply based on conventional and new small-sized power generation technologies are being considered. The analysis showed that the development of DES zones does not have the institutional incentives and sufficient resource base for qualitative technological modernization. Most of the investment and operating costs of DES in the northern regions are compensated through cross-and budget subsidizations. Traditional diesel generation remains high-cost and low-efficiency, its modernization is carried out at slow rate, the potential of electric and heat energy cogeneration is not used. Renewable energy technologies are not ready for large implementation in local energy systems of the North and Arctic 14of Russia. The renewables projects, implemented over the past five years, are mainly experimental and demonstration. The analysis of the indicators of the "northern" renewable energy projects does not confirm their economic efficiency. The reasons are not only in the high unit investment costs, but also in relatively low utilization rates of the installed capacity (capacity factors) of solar and wind power plants. There is no targeted state support for the development of the efficient small-sized power generation in northern regions.