ABSTRACT
While Russia is home to only 2.5% of the world's population, the country has about 30% of the worldwide geological energy resources. There are compelling reasons for using renewable energy (RE) in spite of this apparent abundance of fossil fuels. There is an urgent need and economic expediency to use RE in Russia. There are great economic and technical opportunities for RE sources to provide significant contributions to the Russian energy supply. The situation is getting better, taking into account the Russian defense industry's activities in the production of non-traditional energy equipment. There are enterprises for the production of wind, micro-hydro, and geothermal systems, as well as photovoltaic equipment, and others. Russia uses only 1.5 million tons of oil while it has the potential equivalent of 270 million tons of economically feasible renewable energy. Right now, the main goal for the Russian RE sector is the creation of a new law on renewable and non-traditional sources of energy. The Energy Ministry started to develop this important law so that RE will have a more significant contribution to the Russian economy in the future.
