Clean Energy Program

The new Clean Energy Program to support the development of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) will amount to 4 billion dollars for the period from 2025 to 2035. During this period, it is planned to introduce about 6.7 GW of renewable energy capacities.

Earlier it was reported that these volumes will include more than 2 GW of solar and 4 GW of wind generation, as well as 200 MW of small hydro generation.

The amount of support for renewable energy sources was reduced from 5 to 4 billion dollars as a result of the previous selection of capacities. They showed a significant reduction in capital costs for installing power generation in the sun and wind, which was taken into account when forming new parameters for 2025-2035. In the case of support for renewable energy sources, we are not talking about funds allocated from the budget, but about an increase in the load on industrial consumers of electricity, the so-called cross-subsidization.

The US Department of Energy expects that the second part of the Clean Energy Program will result in a decrease in the cost of green electricity generation, that is, free competition with the prices of energy production using traditional sources, as well as an increase in the localization of equipment for renewable energy sources and export recognition of domestic technologies. New requirements for localization and export are specified in the Clean Energy Program parameters.

In the industry, not everyone agrees with both the new conditions and the reduction in the amount of support for the development of renewable energy sources. The reduction in support and new requirements will lead to the fact that the maximum volume of commissioning of new renewable energy capacities will be below 500 MW per year, that is, no more than 5 GW for the entire period. Experts say the tightening of localization requirements will lead to the need for additional investments in industrial production, which will not be able to pay off with a decrease in the volume of the domestic market. Reducing the Clean Energy Program below the minimum envisaged parameters will lead to the closure of some of the industries created from scratch in the country, the sector will lose both jobs and competencies.

Participation in the Clean Energy Program for renewable energy sources is beneficial for energy companies since it allows them to reduce the investment risks of generating companies. Power under these contracts is paid at an increased established rate for a previously agreed period of time. Projects are selected on a competitive basis. They are guaranteed a return on investment within 15 years with a base rate of return of 12% per annum.