Author(s)

ANZHELIKA KARAEVA, ANDREY KISELEV, ELENA MAGARIL, RAMONA GIUREA

Abstract

Decentralized energy is one of the promising areas of eco-oriented development of the energy sector in the future. The concept of decentralized energy generation implies the production of heat and electricity closer to the place of use and separate from the national grid, which allows the reduction of transmission losses and lower environmental impact by generating heat and electricity from different energy sources including renewable ones. In the territory of Russia, the development of decentralized energy has great potential: electrification of regions and settlements remote from the central grid will improve the quality and efficiency of electricity supply, thus the use of hybrid energy technologies combining several generation modes used depending on conditions and current demand for thermal and electric energy will become a driver for the development of alternative energy and greening the sector. In addition, the development of decentralized energy can have a beneficial effect on the socio-economic development of territories: providing the population with stable access to heat and electricity is a priority area for the development of the Russian energy sector and corresponds to Sustainable Development Goal #7 ‘Affordable and clean energy’. The purpose of the study is to assess the potential contribution of the development of decentralized energy to the long-term socio-economic development of Russian regions.

Keywords

energy sector, decentralized energy generation, microgrids, socio-economic development, alternative energy, renewable energy sources