Russia plans to cut state funding for the green energy sector by nearly a quarter, or 22%, the Kommersant business daily reported Thursday.
The government’s budget for its 2025-2035 renewables program will be cut from 400 billion rubles ($5.4 billion) to 313 billion rubles ($4.3 billion), unnamed sources told Kommersant, citing a March 11 meeting between Deputy Prime Ministers Alexander Novak and Yury Borisov.
Initially, the Economy Ministry had planned to cut funding for renewable energy by half while the Energy Ministry insisted on cutting it by one-third, Kommersant reported. Officials aim to keep rising electricity prices within inflation.
The new renewable energy program would also reportedly oblige producers to meet green energy export targets under the threat of fines as well as increase requirements for localizing production.
Renewables investors interviewed by Kommersant warned that the cuts could lead to shutdowns of facilities, leading to job losses and ultimately monopolizing Russia’s renewables market.
A representative for the Association for the Development of Renewable Energy also criticized the new export targets.
“Investing billions of dollars in the country's economy for the sake of selling 25% of annual production on the local market is an inexplicable decision from an economic point of view,” the representative told Kommersant.
