Meeting of the State Council Commission on Energy

Meeting of the State Council Commission on Energy

The State Council Commission on Energy held a meeting as part of the Russian Energy Week to discuss the development of coal-fired power generation in the country. Taking part in the meeting were Chair of the State Council Commission, Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aisen Nikolayev, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev, Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic Alexei Chekunkov, as well as representatives of the Presidential Executive Office, the Federation Council and the State Duma, federal and regional government agencies, energy companies, and experts. In his remarks, Aisen Nikolayev said the latest technology has led the world to see the future of coal in a new light. Today, coal accounts for about 42 percent of generated capacity in Siberia and Russia’s Far East, but most of the equipment it relies on requires upgrades. Supercritical steam generators are the key priority from a technological perspective. Alexander Novak focused on the economics of projects involving the latest coal-fired power generation units. He talked about the importance of carrying out pilot projects for building coal-fired power stations with supercritical steam generators with a view to scaling up this technology. All these efforts are designed to facilitate technological upgrades in coal-fired power generation and create conditions for developing domestic engineering solutions for the energy sector, while making new projects economically viable, the Deputy Prime Minister pointed out. Sergei Tsivilev took the floor to stress the need to make smart decisions when choosing primary energy sources, taking into account the specific energy mix for every region. Considering the rich coal reserves in Siberia and Russia’s Far East, coal-fired power generation is one of the key options in this regard. The Minister emphasised that with coal accounting for about 15 percent of national power generation and 22 percent of heating, there is an urgent need to upgrade the existing steam power units and build new ones. Introducing energy units based on supercritical steam generators would produce a 47 percent increase in the performance of steam power generators while reducing coal consumption in power generation by 10 to 30 percent. Alexei Chekunkov weighed into the conversation by saying that Russia’s Far East was demonstrating economic growth rates above the national average and the energy sector was expected to enable this region to sustain this positive momentum. Over the past five years, energy consumption in that macro region increased by 21 percent and is expected to expand by another third by 2030. The Minister went on to say that a long-term programme for developing the Far Eastern power generation sector has been drafted. It provides for building hydropower and nuclear power plants, developing power grids and energy storage systems, while also making the existing capacity more efficient. He noted that the Far Eastern Federal District’s proven coal reserves were equal to 25.8 billion tonnes, and this type of fuel accounted for over 65 percent in the macro region’s energy mix. Summing up the meeting’s results, Presidential Aide, State Council Secretary Alexei Dyumin, talked about the objectives for Russia’s energy sector and stressed the importance of ensuring reliable and accessible power supply, enhancing manufacturing efficiency and guaranteeing technological independence. He also pointed out that the President supported the Commission’s proposals on developing coal-fired power generation, which means that the time to launch a system-wide effort to fulfil this agenda has come.