Project Outline

The overall objective of the project is to support the Russian Federal Government and regional administrations in the development of legal and regulatory framework to facilitate and encourage the use of renewable energy in Russia. This framework will include the emerging federal law on RES (Renewable Energy Sources)/RES-E (RES Energy) and correspond to the regional capacities and priorities. Special work will be done on removing and/or lowering the barriers to expansion of RES, such as investment, market access and technological barriers.

In particular, the project aims to develop justifiable and attainable national and regional RES/RES-E targets and national and regional policies and action plans in three selected regions chosen for pilot studies, to reach these targets. Subsequently, the targets will become integral part of national and regional RES/RES-E programs. The three regions—Astrakhan, Krasnodar and Nizhny Novgorod—have been chosen in partnership with the beneficiary, the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation.

The anticipated results at the federal level include:

• A proposal for a federal policy framework to promote RES and RES-E (Federal RES/RES-E Policy Proposal).
• National RES/RES-E Action Plan, including the formation and monitoring mechanism of RES/RES-E federal targets to be achieved within specified time (National Action Plan to Set, Monitor and Achieve RES-E Targets)

At the regional level, they include:

• Technical and economic feasibility studies of using RES as a primary energy source in each of the three regions (Regional RES Feasibility Studies)
• RES/RES-E Action Plans in three regions, including proposals for a policy framework permitting the implementation of RES and RES-E in these regions (Regional RES/RES-E Action Plans)

Means

Focus Policy Areas

Pricing framework should:

• Have no negative effect on electricity trade
• Include an incentive for investment in RES
• Prove that RES are efficient and cost-effective
• Take into account the economic characteristic of different RES in each region

Grid access:

• Form a legislative and regulatory framework requiring transmission system operators and distribution system operators to publish rules relating to the costs of establishing RES-E system installations
• Establish a legislative framework with a specified regulator and identify the roles and responsibilities of transmission operators and distribution operators

Administrative issues:

• Identify regulatory (and other) barriers that would restrict the formation and trade in RES-E
• Streamline procedures at the administrative level and ensure that rules are objective, transparent and non-discriminatory
• Consider the different uses of renewable energy source technologies in the rules

Information policy planning on electricity generated from RES-E should:

• Raise the level of awareness of the potential positive economic welfare of RES-E via communicating the economic and technical viability of RES-E as an effective source of electricity generation
• Develop a means of communicating several messages to different stakeholders including energy generators, potential generators, different groups of consumers, the financial community and the government
• Encourage investment to RES through these messages

Specific Activities

a) At the federal level:

• Analyze the existing and ongoing electricity legislation
• Understand the current pricing framework in Russia
• Assess administrative, legal and economic barriers to RES-E penetration to Russian energy markets
• Summarise the “best practice” principles and mechanisms in the EU Member States and other countries for national-level legal and economic policy frameworks to encourage RES-E
• Develop a pricing policy within a legislative and regulatory framework that ensures objective, transparent and non-discriminatory grid access to companies operating in the RES-E market
• Provide a comprehensive overview of RES enhancing mechanisms
• Work out a policy proposal to enhance RES investments in the Russian Energy Sector
• Research and agree upon indicative targets for RES-E power generation at the national level
• Develop a National RES/RES-E Action Plan
• Develop a proposal for a monitoring system for RES/RES-E targets
• Conduct the Final Project Workshop

b) At the regional level:

• Assess the regional potential for the development of RES, including RES-E.
• Identify regional targets for the use of RES, which are compatible with the geographical, technological, and other constraints experienced in the region.
• With respect to RES-E, develop a legislative framework of rules and regulations that will provide equal access to the interconnect grid.
• Develop a regional action plan for the effective and economically efficient use of RES-E. This will include the formation of a policy forming or coordinating mechanism that accounts for the interests of all stakeholders.
• Prepare solutions to the administrative barriers preventing the effective rollout of a regional RES-E action plan.
• Develop recommendations for short-to-medium term incentives designed to stimulate a controlled development of RES-E.
• Develop a regional monitoring plan for the evaluation of new RES-E systems integration.
• Develop a specific training programme (three workshops) for national, regional, and municipal officials and experts involved in RES, focused on delivering the required expertise enabling the rollout of an RES and RES-E policy.
• Execute three short study tours to EU member states for a small group of officials, who are involved in the creation of RES regional policy and/or will be involved in the execution of RES policy. Design study tours to showcase best practice use of RES in Europe that is compatible with and that may be practically approximated in Russia.

Events

Stakeholders

• Contracting authority (a.k.a. Project Beneficiary) - The European Community, represented by the European Commission in the Russian Federation: http://www.delrus.ec.europa.eu/en/index.htm
• Project Partner – Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation: http://www.minprom.gov.ru/eng
• Regional Administration of the Astrakhan Oblast: http://www.astrobl.ru/ (in Russian only)
• Regional Administration of the Krasnodar Krai: http://admkrai.kuban.ru/ (in Russian only)
• Regional Administration of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast: http://www.government.nnov.ru/?id=1451

This project is funded by the European Union