Russia To Launch 6.7 GW Renewable Energy Tender

• Russia is to launch a renewables tender with 6.7 GW capacity in September 2021, according to the wind energy association RAWI
• It will come from 4.1 GW wind, 2.4 GW solar PV and 200 MW small hydropower facilities
• Projects will be required to come online between 2023 and 2035 and compensated under RES CDA support mechanism

The Russian Energy Agency (REA) has plans to launch a renewable energy tender with a combined capacity of 6.7 GW, divided into 4.1 GW for wind, 2.4 GW for solar PV and about 200 MW of small hydropower plants, stated the Russian Association of Wind Power Industry (RAWI).

It was to be issued in July 2021, but has now been pushed to between September 3 and 9, 2021. Winning projects will be required to come online between 2023 and 2035.

The tender will be launched under the country's RES CDA 2.0 support mechanism through which investors are assured of fixed return of investments in form of contracts for difference,  an incentive scheme wherein successful bidders get fixed rates even if actual power prices rise higher or fall lower. Under the previous support system, winning projects were compensated basis capital costs.

RAWI explained it would be the state's 2^nd support scheme for renewables and the 1^st competitive round launched with a budget of RUB 360 billion ($4.87 billion).

The tender round is likely to insist on a local content level, which IHS Markit's Senior Analyst for Russia and Caspian Energy (RACE) service, Konstantin Samarin believes could be an issue for participants in the tender, but will benefit Russian equipment manufacturers. This list would definitely count Hevel Group, a prominent name in the Russian PV cell and module manufacturing domain.

In July 2021, Hevel's majority stakeholder Ream Management's subsidiary Unigreen Energy started construction on a GW level heterojunction (HJT) fab to produce 1.3 GW silicon N-type monocrystalline ingots and 1 GW HJT solar cells (see Russia To Host Gigawatt Level Heterojunction Factory).

Going forward, IHS Markit expects the Russian renewables capacity to reach 10 GW by the end of 2035 when renewables could grow to account for 4% of the total energy mix, up from 0.3% today.

According to international law firm Baker McKenzie, under RES CDA 1.0 or CSA RES 1.0, more than 5.4 GW of renewable energy capacity is to be commissioned by 2024. "Together with CSA RES 2.0, Russia's total renewable capacity should reach approximately 12 GW by 2035," it stated in a July 2021 update on the market.