Wind Energy in Russia

Wind energy engineering has become one of the fastest-growing sectors of alternative energy sources in the Russian Federation as part of implementing the DPM VITE program. This article presents the main aspects of wind power development in Russia.

Overview of the Energy Sector of Russia

The Russian Federation is one of the largest countries by fossil fuel (oil, gas and others) extraction resources and exports them to other countries. Due to local TERs, thermal power plants using fossil fuels for electricity generation are predominant in Russia's energy system.

However, there is an increasing share of electricity production from renewable sources in the Russian power grid.

It is worth noting that the largest share of electricity production from renewable sources in Russia is hydroelectric power. As of December 31, 2022, hydroelectric power accounted for 17.14% of total electricity generation in the Russian Unified Energy System (UES).

To develop alternative energy sources and increase the share of electricity from wind farms and photovoltaic stations in the total volume of electricity production, the Russian government has developed a mechanism for supporting renewable energy sources DPM VITE (power supply agreement). The mechanism was adopted in 2013, and since then, alternative energy construction began in Russia.

DPM VITE

• DPM VITE 1.0 – period from 2013 to 2024. The program provides for the construction of wind parks with a total installed capacity of 3,415.7 MW.
• DPM VITE 2.0 – period from 2025 to 2035. The program provides for the construction of WESs with a power output of at least 3,210 MW.

According to results, conducted auctions for selecting capacities, within the DPM VITE 1.0 program was awarded an amount of capacity for construction of WESs in the amount of 3,569.11 MW (according to RAVI). As a result of selected projects on the Russian wind energy market three key players were formed:

• PJSC "Fortum" and commercial partners with installed capacity of wind power projects 1,858.3 MW.
• JSC "NovaWind" (GC "Rosatom") with installed capacity of wind energy installations 1,172.5 MW.
• PJSC "Enel Russia" construction of WESs with a total installed capacity of 326.31 MW. 

Due to the situation on the Russian wind energy market, auctions for projects within the DPM VITE 2.0 program, which were supposed to take place in 2022, have been postponed several times and took place only in April 2023. Also a number of projects selected under DPM VITE 1.0 are currently suspended at this time. 

Wind Power Capacity

The installed capacity of WESs in Russia as of the end of 2022 is 2,28 GW (including facilities implemented within DPM VITE and outside it). In 2021 wind power exceeded the capacity of photovoltaic stations.

Below are data on wind farms and wind energy installations in Russia with an installed capacity greater than 100 kW.

Efficiency

In 2022, the efficiency of WEU increased and reached 32.1%. The capacity factor for 2021 was 29.8%. It should be noted that the efficiency of WEU in Russia is still below the average global value.