Inter RAO criticizes projects on waste burning plants, green energy

MOSCOW, Feb 13 (PRIME) -- Boris Kovalchuk, CEO of Russian power holding Inter RAO, criticized a planned increase of burden on power consumers because of renewable energy and waste burning plants construction projects at a Tuesday meeting of the economic policy committee of the parliament’s upper house Federation Council.

According to the data of market regulator Sovet Rynka (Market Council), the burden on consumers of the wholesale power market from payments to power plants running on renewable energy will exceed 2 trillion rubles in 2017–2035, and payments for construction of waste burning plants will stand at about 262 billion rubles in 2022–2035.

“We have projects connected to wastes. These projects are large and expensive, but they have no relation to the power sector. These projects are about waste utilization, these projects are in the sphere of public housing and utility services, but they use th emoney of power producers, money of our consumers,” Kovalchuk said.

“Renewable power sources are beautiful for Europe, maybe. They are good for the countries with no hydrocarbon reserves or that have small territories and have many ecological problems. But we have to understand that it is very dangerous for Russia to move into the territory of renewable power sources when we have mineral reserves that we can burn.”

Each kilowatt produced by a new power plant even in the “expensive” period of return of investment is six times cheaper that one kilowatt-hour produced by a green power plant.

“Let’s not forget that we pay taxes on top of our cheap sources, the mineral sector pays taxes, the gas and coal companies pay. In regards to renewable power sources, they pay taxes only on equipment that produces power. So we have to look at the balance of power generation and at our sector very prudently,” he said.

(58.0171 rubles – U.S. $1)

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