Page 135 - RusRPTFeb23

optimized by 146 days, including through the use of digital tools, played a major role in the rise of electric power generation, Rosenergoatom CEO Andrey Petrov said. The greatest contribution to the next record among Russian NPPs was made by the Balakovskaya NPP (more than 35.7bn kWh), the Rostovskaya NPP (above 35.046bn kWh), and the Kalininskaya NPP (32.636bn kWh), the company said. Rosenergoatom comprises eleven nuclear power plants with 37 power units in service (including the Academician Lomonosov floating power unit). Their installed capacity is above 29.5 GW in total. The share of nuclear generation is about 20% of total electric power generation in Russia at the moment.
The extent to which countries can fast-track the switch to green energy is a key question for 2023. High global oil and gas prices (see ‘Energy cost hikes’; upper panel) offer an incentive for households and businesses to install solar panels and heat pumps to lower their energy bills, as many did this year in Europe. EU policymakers fast-tracked permits for installing renewables, and simplified regulations around retrofitting buildings to be more energy efficient. The United States this year passed its Inflation Reduction Act, which includes subsidies for manufacturing clean technologies domestically, which should boost uptake. Researchers need to see how these policy shifts pan out amid strengthening economic and political headwinds.
The IEA has announced the beginning of a new industrial era.The International Energy Agency believes that the world is entering a new industrial era, which will be based on the production of environmentally friendly technologies. The IEA report covers wind turbines, heat pumps, batteries for electric cars, solar panels, and electrolyzers for hydrogen production. By the end of the decade, this sector will triple to $650B a year, and the number of related jobs will grow from 6 to 14 million. However, a key condition for the realization of this forecast is that all countries fulfill their obligations to reduce harmful emissions and transition to renewable energy sources. At the same time, the agency points to significant geopolitical risks: the production of many green technologies is dominated by China, and a substantial percentage of the extraction of the most important minerals is concentrated among a few producers. Excessive dependence on one market player risks high costs in the event of a failure, stressed IEA head Fatih Birol.
135 RUSSIA Country Report February 2023 www.intellinews.com