Will distributed energy resources be the future of Russia's power system?

According to the International Energy Agency, in the period up to 2030, distributed energy resources will provide up to 75% of new grid connections. For now, the Russian power system remains outside both the "energy transition" revolution and the large-scale development of distributed en-ergy resources.

What is the capacity of distributed generation in Russia?

Table 1. Typical cases of distributed generation in Russia Capacity of 25-600 MW Technology – steam power (for stations launched in the XX century) and gas or reciprocated gas tur-bine (XXI century). Most often - co-generation. Capacity - usually from 500 kW to 10 MW. The technology - mainly recipro-cated gas turbine, less often micro-tur-bine.

What is distributed generation (DG) in Russia?

Distributed Generation (DG), unlike other types of distributed energy resource, is applied to some extent in Russia. In Russia, power plants with a larger capacity than is common in Europe or the United States are classified as DG.

What is the potential for electricity consumption reduction in Russia?

According to CENEF, the potential for electricity consumption reduction in Russia in 2011 was 379 TWh per year (about 36% of annual consump-tion). The main drivers of this reduction were energy saving in industry and buildings. Realization of this potential is constrained by the following main barriers:

How many cases of distributed generation are there in Russia?

In this study, about 800 Russian and international cases of distributed generation were considered, 37 of which were analysed in detail13. The analysis allowed identification of four typical cases of distributed genera-tion, which are a priority for Russian conditions: Large CHP plants near the industrial consumer.

Could distributed energy resources cover half of the unified power system?

The analysis reveals that even in the case of the partial use of potential, distributed energy resources could cover up to half of the projected short-age of generation capacity in the unified power system during the period 2025-2035 (about 36 GW by 2035). The maximum potential is obtained for distributed co-generation of about 17 GW.