Clean Energy Technologies and Renewable Energy Risks

The paper presents a target vision of the new energy sector in Russia, based on the analysis of promising areas of its development in the field of energy technology economics and assessment of energy risks of using renewable energy sources. Financial and commercial indicators for various types of power plants under construction or under reconstruction are presented, showing that the new economic basis for the widespread use of renewable energy allows building new energy with a lower specific investment per 1 kW of installed capacity and obtaining cheaper electric energy. To assess the prospects for full inclusion of renewable energy facilities in the energy complex of our country and expand their use, a description of the risks arising in the renewable energy sector and their management methods is given. Based on the analysis of calculation results and data on electricity production at solar power plants commissioned in the Altai Republic, the effectiveness of the proposed methodology for assessing natural resource risks in renewable energy is shown. The construction of large hydroelectric power plants, which account for ~20% of the country’s total energy balance, is also associated with a negative impact on the environment. Reservoirs necessary for regulating the productivity of hydroelectric power plants occupy significant territories that are excluded from agricultural turnover. The construction of reservoirs is associated with a violation of the hydrogeological regime of rivers, changes in the properties of ecosystems, and the species composition of hydrobionts. It should be noted that large hydroelectric power plants are not considered to be objects operating on the basis of renewable energy sources. According to the existing classification, such facilities include small hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of up to 25 MW and microhpps. The sulfur and nitrogen oxides contained in TPP emissions lead to acid rain and have a detrimental effect on human and animal health, as well as on plants. Serious problems are also associated with ash and slag from thermal power plants. The discharge of heated water from the cooling systems of thermal power plants to surface water sources causes their thermal pollution, leading to a decrease in water saturation with oxygen.