Energy on renewable sources: Prospects for the world and for Russia

Abstract

The outlook for global energy by the mid-21st century will largely depend on nontraditional energy sources, the role of which is growing rapidly already today. Colossal investments in the development of renewable energy sources (RESs) over the past 25–30 years have favored a technological leap, which has reduced the cost of energy by orders of magnitude. Some RESs approached traditional hydrocarbon energy by their economic indicators. The correct economic evaluation of prospects for RES development is a topical scientific and practical problem. Its solution will help, on the one hand, understand and measure the scale and depth of the effects of renewable energy sources on global and domestic energy and, on the other, evaluate the opportunities and prospects for the Russian Federation. The authors of this article analyze trends in RES development in global and domestic practice and recommend improvements to Russian policy in this sphere.