A Comparative Analysis Of The European And Russian Support Schemes For Renewable Energy

Russia has a huge potential for the development of renewable energy sources. Given the necessity to modernize the economy and stimulate innovation, the exploitation of this potential is increasingly recognized as a political priority. Replacing traditional fossil energy sources with renewable energy in the Russian fuel mix will also have a positive impact on European energy security and climate policy. The European partners thus have an interest in stimulating this development. Advocating the lessons learned from the European experience in the field of renewable energy policy could be a way to assist Russia in its efforts to develop adequate regulatory mechanisms to stimulate investments in the renewable energy sector. This contribution argues that this attempt can only be successful if the European and Russian partners “speak the same language” in terms of renewable energy policy. It therefore proposes to compare the support mechanisms developed by the Member States of the EU with the Russian scheme in order to highlight potential misunderstandings in the concepts and instruments used. Moreover, this contribution argues that the EU will only be convincing in its approach towards Russia if it avoids a “normative hegemonic” behavior. The EU should focus on the flaws of its experience rather than presenting its rules as “best practice”. The EU experience learns that regulatory instability is the biggest obstacle to a successful renewable energy policy. The readiness of the Russian authorities to integrate investors' concern of stability in the regulatory framework governing the support scheme will determine Russia's ability to attract private investments in the development of its huge renewable energy potential.

Energy in Europe and Russia is in flux. This book presents a rich set of case studies for analyzing the complex and intertwined regional dynamics of multiple actors, levels, and policy fields in energy throughout Europe and Russia, with the aim of offering an alternative view to the prevalent geopolitical or neoliberal approaches.

Electricity supply plays a strategic role for Russia’s economic development and for social peace. As a main consumer of natural gas, electricity is also of central importance for the efficient management of Russia’s energy resource basis. Today, however, the electricity sector is in an obsolete condition. Investments are needed in the modernization of the infrastructure. This book analyzes the liberalization and privatization program that Russia is implementing to attract private investments in this modernization process. Taking a comparative approach, this analysis critically assesses Russian electricity law in the light of the European liberalization experience. Given the strategic importance of electricity, investors face significant risks of government intervention. This book identifies these regulatory risks and examines investment protection mechanisms under Russia’s national and international investment obligations.

This timely book analyses the status of hydrocarbon energy in Russia as both a saleable commodity and as a source of societal and political power. Through empirical studies in domestic and foreign policy contexts, Veli-Pekka Tykkynen explores the development of a hydrocarbon culture in Russia and the impact this has on its politics, identity and approach to climate change and renewable energy.

This book reports on innovative research and developments in automation.The chapters spans a wide range of disciplines, including communication engineering, power engineering, control engineering, instrumentation,signal processing and cybersecurity. Emphasis is given to methods and findings aimed at fostering better control and monitoring of industrial and manufacturing processes, and improving safety. Based on the International Russian Automation Conference, held in September 8-14, 2019, in Sochi,Russia, the book provides academics and professionals with a timely overview and extensive information on the state of the art in the field of automation and control systems, and is expected to foster new idea, as well as collaboration between different groups in different countries.

Most existing support schemes aim to stimulate the deployment of renewable energy sources in the electricity sector on the basis of the electricity output (MWh) of renewable energy installations. Support is anchored in the electricity commodity market. In contrast to this established approach, Russia intends to promote renewable energy through the capacity market. The idea is to remunerate investors for the installed capacity (MW) of their installations, in particular for the availability of their installations to produce electricity. This article argues that, contrary to the implicit consensus, a capacity-based approach to supporting renewable energy can provide an alternative to the current output-based schemes. Capacity-based schemes limit the incentive that the operators of renewable energy installations currently have under output-based schemes to deliver electricity to the grid even in periods of low demand. These schemes also provide investors with a more predictable income flow. However, to be successful, the regulation of capacity supply - currently designed for flexible power plants - needs to accommodate the specific production patterns of variable renewable energy installations. This paper examines ways to overcome this challenge in Russia and provides more general conclusions on the complex interaction between capacity markets and renewable energy investments.

This book contributes to the broader discussion on the development of renewable energy sources for a clean and sustainable energy to drive sustainable growth, energy security and sustainable development. Focusing on sub-Sahara African perspectives, with Ghana as the central case study, this book focuses on how regulatory regimes can be designed to achieve renewable energy targets for electricity production. Exploring the regulatory rationales behind the government’s intervention in the Ghanaian renewable energy sector, it examines whether the regulatory measures adopted by the Ghanaian government are sufficient to attract adequate investment to meet renewable energy integration targets. Assessing the regulatory frameworks of the renewable energy sectors of The Gambia and Nigeria, the book compares these countries to the regulatory approaches to renewable energy development in Ghana. Arguing that there are significant regulatory issues impeding renewable energy development in Ghana, with wider consequences across sub-Saharan Africa, the book suggests solutions which can establish a robust and an effective regulatory framework to achieve renewable energy developmental targets. A comprehensive read, this volume will appeal to scholars and researchers of sustainable development, law and legal studies, environmental laws, development economics, applied industrial economics, energy security, African economy, public policy and regulatory policy. It will also be of interest to professionals and practitioners in policy circles and research think tanks.

This book contains selected papers presented during the World Renewable Energy Congress (WREC) 2020 at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon. The WREC is dedicated to promoting renewable energy global development, and features top international experts, policy makers, scientists, engineers, technology developers, and business practitioners addressing the most current research and technological breakthroughs in sustainable energy development and innovation. The contributions address policy and renewable energy technologies and applications in all sectors—for heating and cooling, agricultural applications, water, desalination, industrial applications, and for the transport sectors. Presents cutting-edge research in green building and renewable energy from all over the world; Covers the most up-to-date research developments, government policies, business models, best practices, and innovations; Contains case studies and examples to enhance practical application of the technologies.