Prospects for the development and deployment of the world's electric power industry. Problems and prospects for the development and location of the electric power industry in Russia. Power Generation Progress

Especially for the portal "Perspectives"

Vladimir Kondratiev

Kondratiev Vladimir Borisovich - Doctor of Economics, Professor, Head of the Center for Industrial and Investment Studies of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The electric power industry is undergoing no less radical changes than during mass construction nuclear reactors in the 1960s - 1970s. The share of alternative energy sources is growing, the disproportion in prices for coal and natural gas is increasing, and the role of nuclear energy is being rethought. The world economy is turning from energy-deficient to energy-surplus. The second part of the article looks at the global outlook for the industry and how it can be reformed in the EU, India, Brazil, South Korea and, in more detail, Russia.

The large-scale changes that are currently taking place in the world energy industry are proceeding quite slowly and are often hardly noticeable to others. However, new challenges already face energy companies and politicians, and the future of the industry depends on what answers are found to them for many years to come.

European Union

Compared to the average world structure of electricity generation, the share of nuclear power plants (almost 30%), as well as alternative energy sources - wind, biomass, etc. (about 8%) is noticeably higher in the EU countries.

Rice. 1.

Source: U. S. Energy Information Administration. International Energy statistics. Electricity. U.S. Department of Energy. wash. D . C.

The main body responsible for the development and harmonization of the EU energy policy is the Directorate General for Energy (until 2010 - the Directorate General for Energy and Transport). The subsequent levels of regulation are at the level of individual EU member states, each of which may have different systems of industry management. One representative from each EU country is a member of the association of regulators ERGEG (European Regulators "Group for Electricity and Gas). The association was formed by the European Commission as an advisory body on the creation of an internal electricity market. The main activity of the association is the development of draft laws and strategic documents for the development of the industry.

The liberalization of the EU markets did not imply the mandatory privatization of the electric power industry. In many countries, there are still large generating companies, most of whose shares are owned by the state (Italy, Sweden). Companies with a large share and power in the markets of their respective countries are also characteristic of the EU as a whole: these are EdF in France, EdP in Portugal, Electrabel in Belgium, etc.

The functions of transmission of electricity and control of the regimes of power systems in most countries are performed by system operators. There are currently 34 system operators operating in the EU, united in the ENTSO-E association. In accordance with the Third Package of Energy Laws, it carries out pan-European planning and coordination of parallel energy systems.

The EC Directive of June 26, 2003 imposed obligations on the EU member states to deregulate and liberalize the electric power industry. The directive also provided for the subsequent unification of local electricity markets into a single EU internal market. The aims of the reform were to increase the efficiency of the electric power industry, reduce electricity prices, improve the quality of service and increase competition.

First of all, it was envisaged to separate vertically integrated energy companies by types of activity and ensure competition in the generation and sales sectors. There was no question of a mandatory change of ownership, if at the same time the operators of transmission and distribution networks provided non-discriminatory access to the network with an economically justified connection price. A key element of the separation was the formation of independent management and decision-making bodies in the transmission, distribution and generation companies.

The directive was aimed at creating compatible conditions for the supply of electricity to consumers in the EU member states, which will allow in the future to come to a single European electricity market. These conditions include: the level of competition in the market, the economic feasibility of the cost of electricity, the possibility of free choice of a supplier, a system of tenders for the introduction of new capacity, a reduction in CO 2 emissions into the atmosphere, etc.

As a result of the reform, the European electricity market is a conglomeration of interconnected regional markets (Baltic; East Central Europe; West Central Europe; South Central Europe, Northern Europe; South-West Europe and France-UK-Ireland).

One of the main problems on the way to the formation of a single market is the presence of transshipments at cross-border sections between regional markets. It is supposed to solve this problem by stimulating investments in network infrastructure and to complete the formation of a single market by 2014. The most developed market is considered to be Northern Europe, especially its Scandinavian part. This market has some of the lowest prices in Europe, and liquidity exceeds 30%.

There are 9 main electricity exchanges in the EU: NordPool, EEX, IPEX, Powernext, APX NL, APX UK, Belpex, Endex and Omel. IN last years there is a trend towards the merger of exchanges and the expansion of the territory they cover. On all exchanges, trading is carried out in the “day ahead” mode, on some there are also intraday, balancing and futures markets.

Despite the liberalization carried out, a significant share of regulated electricity supplies remains in many countries. To a greater extent, this applies to the new EU members - Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, however, regulated tariffs for the population remain in some countries with developed markets, such as France and Italy.

India

More than 30% of generating assets are controlled by the government at the national level. The largest generating companies are the National Hydro-Generating Corporation, the Atomic Energy Corporation of India, and the National Thermal Power Corporation. At the state level, the state owns 52% of the generation and distribution companies. Under state control is the PowerGrid of India Corporation, which is responsible for the functioning and development of the national energy system. Approximately 13% of generation at the state level is owned by private owners.

The structure of electricity generation is dominated by coal-fired thermal power plants. Compared to the world average, hydroelectric power plants (25%) and renewable energy sources (7%), primarily biomass, play a relatively large role in India (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Structure of electricity generation by types of fuel

Source . C.

The Ministry of Energy of India is responsible for the development of the industry and the formation of energy policy in the country as a whole. The implementation of domestic energy policy at the state level is the responsibility of their governments.

Tariffs for the generation of electricity by state-owned generating companies and for the transmission of electricity through the main networks are set by the Central Regulatory Commission of India. At the regional level, the activities of energy companies are regulated by 28 relevant state regulatory commissions of the states.

In recent decades, the Indian government has been liberalizing markets and taking steps to encourage private investment in the power industry while maintaining government regulation of the industry. The Law on Electricity, adopted in 2003, became the main state act of reforming the electric power industry. The law abolished the requirements for mandatory licensing of projects for the construction of generating facilities, created conditions for the development of competition and attraction of foreign investors, and launched the processes of separation by type of activity. In order to attract private investment, the Government of India has issued a special guideline that defines the rules for the participation of private investors in projects for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.

For the development of electricity trade, the law establishes the following stages:

determination by the relevant regulatory commission of the tariff for the sold electricity according to the formula "production costs + standard profitability";

determination of the tariff on the basis of competitive bidding;

price competition among electricity producers and market opening.

Since June 2002, the Power Trading Corporation of India (PTC) has been operating in the country, the main activity of which at the first stage was the purchase of surplus electricity from generating companies and their subsequent sale to vertically integrated energy companies of the states at an economically justified cost, ensuring the optimal balance of interests of sellers and buyers .

PTC owned neither generation nor grid assets and functioned as the sole supplier, minimizing the financial and operational risks of electricity buyers and sellers. It guaranteed timely payment to electricity producers and fulfillment of obligations for its supply to buyers.

Brazil

Here, the generation structure is dominated by hydropower, which accounts for up to 80% of the electricity produced in the country. The importance of nuclear power plants, gas and coal-fired power plants is small. Biomass power plants play a relatively important role (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Structure of electricity generation by types of fuel

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration. International Energy Statistics. Electricity. U.S. Department of Energy. wash. D . C.

Brazil, along with Canada and China, is among the top three countries with the highest hydroelectric power generation. Thermal power plants, which are a reserve during low water seasons, are highly dependent on imported fuel. Currently, much attention is paid to the development of wind and solar energy, biomass power plants (in particular, ethanol), and small hydroelectric power plants.

Electric power companies in Brazil, according to the form of ownership, can be divided into three groups: state, municipal and private. State-owned companies include: "Eletrobrás" - generation, transmission, distribution; "Eletronorte" - generation, transmission, distribution; "Boa Vista" - distribution; NUCLEN - nuclear power; CEPEL - research.

Municipal enterprises CESP, CEMIG, COPEL, CEEE are engaged in generation, transmission and distribution, "Transmissão Paulista" - only transmission of electricity, and another 11 municipal companies - exclusively distribution. The category of private enterprises includes 5 generation companies and 40 distribution companies.

The largest company in the industry is the Eletrobras holding, 78% of whose shares are currently owned by the state. Eletrobras controls 40% of the installed generating capacity, 60% of the transmission lines and state-owned distribution companies. The ten largest companies in terms of installed capacity are CHESF, Furnas, Eletronorte, Itaipu, CESP (part of the Eletrobras holding), CEMIG-GT, Tractebel, COPEL-GER, AES TIETÊ, Duke Energy .

The National Integrated Power System (Rede Basica / SIN) is one of the largest in the world both in terms of network length and installed capacity. Outside the SIN, there is an isolated system for a part of the Amazon region that is controlled by "Eletrobras". Brazil is connected by power lines to Paraguay, Argentina, Venezuela and Uruguay.

The main provisions of sectoral policy are determined by the President of the country on the basis of prior consultations held by the National Energy Policy Council and the Committee of Line Ministries (CNPE). The CNPE is composed of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Environment.

The State Energy Research Company (EPE) is responsible for strategy and planning for the development of the power industry, in addition to the MME (Lead Ministry). EPE develops a strategy for a 10-year period with annual adjustments and for a 25-year period with adjustments every 3 to 4 years. Key documents that define the rules for the operation of the electric power industry in Brazil are developed in EPE and submitted to MME for further approval by the Committee of line ministries.

The independent regulator is the National Electricity Agency (ANEEL) - an autonomous body approved by law, administratively associated with the MME, but not subordinate to it. ANEEL is engaged in the regulation and control of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in accordance with applicable laws, directives and government policies.

Initially, Brazil's electricity sector was developed with private capital. Until the 1930s, electricity production was controlled mainly by two large foreign associations - the American-Canadian ("Group Light") and the American (AMFORP). Subsequently, the state began to pursue a policy of nationalization of the industry. In 1961, Eletrobrás and MME were created, and in 1978 the state acquired Group Light.

By the 1990s, the Brazilian electricity sector was based on vertically integrated companies, mostly state-owned. Hyperinflation, the policy of subsidized tariffs and insufficient funding have led to the need to reform the industry. In 1996, reforms were introduced to liberalize the market. In 1998, a wholesale electricity market was created, which began to operate in 2001, after the definition of standards and rules for functioning. From 1995 to 1998, 60% of distribution companies were privatized.

The result of these measures was the reduction of public spending on investment in infrastructure development - by attracting private capital and stimulating free competition. The level of customer service has significantly increased, the volume of electricity theft, non-payments and technical losses has decreased. However, a long-term drought that affected the volume of electricity production under the dominance of hydropower, an imperfect mechanism for regulating and managing the industry, an unsuccessful distribution of investments and their insufficient volume, as well as outstripping demand, offset the positive effect of the reforms and were the main causes of the 2001-2002 crisis.

The main directions of the new reform were the centralization of decision-making and giving a greater role to state regulation. The tasks of ensuring the reliability of energy supply to consumers and providing universal access to electricity through social programs were also solved.

In Brazil, there are two platforms for concluding sales contracts electrical energy:

"Ambiente de Contrataçăo Regulado" (ACR) - for the conclusion of regulated contracts (for a year, 3 and 5 years in advance). Here are the subjects of generation and distribution of electrical energy. The sale and purchase is carried out through an annual auction organized by ANEEL at the request of MME;

"Ambiente de Contrataçăo Livre" (ACL) - for concluding non-regulated contracts. It presents generation entities, sales organizations, importers and exporters of electricity, as well as large consumers.

South Korea

The structure of electricity generation in South Korea is quite uniform. The main shares are in coal-fired power plants operating on liquefied gas and nuclear power plants. At the same time, the share of nuclear energy is noticeably higher than the world average (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4 . StructuregenerationelectricityBytypesfuel

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration. International Energy Statistics. Electricity. U.S. Department of Energy. wash. D . C.

Approximately 93% of the electricity generated in the country comes from state company KEPCO ("Korean Electric Power Company"), in which the state owns 51% of the shares. The remaining 7% is generated by private companies.

Regulation is carried out by the Korean Electricity Commission (KOREC), established in April 2001 under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE). The main tasks of KOREC are: creation of a competitive environment for electric power companies; resolution of issues affecting the rights of energy consumers; settlement of disputes relating to business activities in the electric power industry.

The basic plan for reforming the electricity industry in South Korea was approved in 1998 and provided for a phased transition to a competitive market:

1st stage (2000-2002) - a market in the form of an electricity pool, within which the price is determined based on the costs of electricity generation;

Stage 2 (2003-2008) - also a market in the form of a pool, but now the price is determined on the basis of price bids from producers and consumers of electricity;

Stage 3 (starting from 2009) - retail competition.

In 2000, the Korean Electricity Exchange (Korea Power Exchange, KPX) was established, the main task of which was to manage the electricity pool. In 2001, the pool began to function. However, the transition to the second stage of the reform did not take place: the South Korean electricity market still functions as an electricity pool in which buyers do not participate in pricing.

In 2009, at the initiative of the government, a project was launched to study possible options for reforming the electric power industry. The current model continues to be refined in order to improve the conditions for competition between manufacturers.

Currently, KPX, in addition to the functions of a commercial operator for the management of the electricity pool, performs the functions of a system operator, which includes the management of electrical networks and ensuring the reliable functioning of the power system. In addition, KPX carries out long-term planning for the development of generation and electric networks in order to ensure the reliability of electricity supplies. The Exchange also provides market participants and electricity consumers with the information they need to make business decisions.

The participants in the electricity pool include electricity producers (as of 2009 - 6 subsidiaries of KEPCO generating companies and 295 private generating companies) and a single buyer of electricity (KEPCO).

Russia

The electric power industry is the basic branch of the Russian economy, providing electric and thermal energy to the needs of the national economy and the population, as well as exporting electricity to the CIS countries and far abroad. Sustainable development and reliable functioning of the industry largely determine the energy security of the country and are important factors in its successful economic development.

The modern electric power complex of Russia includes about 600 power plants with a capacity of over 5 MW each. The total installed capacity of Russian power plants is 223.1 GW. The generation structure is shown in fig. 5.

Rice. 5. Structure of generation by types of fuel in 2011

Source: Rosstat, Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation.

Every year, all stations generate about a trillion kWh of electricity. In 2012, the power plants of the UES of Russia generated 1,053.4 billion kWh (1.23% more than in 2011).

The leading position in the industry is occupied by thermal power engineering, which for Russia is a historically established and economically justified pattern. The most developed and widespread are thermal power plants for general use, operating on fossil fuels (gas, coal), mainly steam turbines, which account for about 70% of the electricity generated in the country. The largest thermal power plant in Russia is the largest on the Eurasian continent, Surgutskaya GRES-2 (5600 MW), operating on natural gas (the abbreviation GRES, preserved from Soviet times, means the state district power plant). Of the coal-fired power plants, Reftinskaya GRES has the largest installed capacity (3,800 MW). The largest Russian thermal power plants also include Surgutskaya GRES-1 and Kostromskaya GRES, with a capacity of over 3,000 MW each. In the process of industry reform, Russia's largest thermal power plants were merged into wholesale generating companies (WGCs) and territorial generating companies (TGCs).

Hydropower provides system services (frequency, power) and is a key element in ensuring the reliability of the Unified Energy System of the country. Of all the existing types of power plants, it is hydroelectric power plants that are the most maneuverable and are able, if necessary, to quickly increase production volumes, covering peak loads. Russia has a great potential for the development of hydropower: about 9% of the world's hydro resources are concentrated in the country. In terms of these resources, Russia ranks second in the world after China, ahead of the United States, Brazil, and Canada.

Currently, 102 hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of over 100 MW are operating in the country. The total installed capacity of hydroelectric units of all hydroelectric power plants in Russia is approximately 46,000 MW (5th place in the world). In 2011, Russian hydroelectric power plants generated 153.3 billion kWh of electricity. In the total volume of electricity production, the share of HPPs was 16%.

In the course of the reform of the electric power industry, the federal hydro generating company JSC HydroOGK (current name JSC RusHydro) was created, which combined the bulk of the country's hydropower assets. Until recently, the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP with a capacity of 6721 MW (Khakassia) was considered the largest Russian hydroelectric power plant. However, after a tragic accident on August 17, 2009, its capacities were partially out of order.

Russia has full-cycle nuclear power technology from mining uranium ore to generating electricity. Today, the country operates 10 nuclear power plants (a total of 33 power units) with an installed capacity of 23.2 GW, which generate about 15% of all electricity produced. Another 5 nuclear power plants are under construction. Nuclear power has been widely developed in the European part of Russia (30% of the total electricity generation), especially in the North-West (37%). In December 2007, in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom was established, which manages all nuclear assets, including both the civilian part of the nuclear industry and the nuclear weapons complex. It is also entrusted with the task of fulfilling Russia's international obligations in the field of the peaceful use of atomic energy and the regime for the nonproliferation of nuclear materials.

The main facilities of the Russian electric power industry were built during the Soviet period. However, already at the end of the 1980s, signs of a slowdown in the pace of development of the industry appeared: the renewal of production capacities began to lag behind the growth in electricity consumption. In the 1990s, the volume of electricity consumption decreased significantly, at the same time, the process of capacity renewal practically stopped. In terms of technological indicators, Russian energy companies lagged far behind their counterparts in developed countries. There were no incentives to increase efficiency, rational planning of electricity production and consumption regimes, and energy saving. Due to reduced safety enforcement and significant depreciation of funds, there was a high likelihood of major accidents.

The industry required urgent large-scale transformations that would contribute to the renewal of the main facilities, increase the efficiency, reliability and security of energy supply to consumers. To this end, the Government of the Russian Federation in the early 2000s set a course for the liberalization of the electricity market, reforming the industry and creating conditions for attracting large-scale investments in the electric power industry.

In 2000 - 2001 The private sector was considered as the main possible source of investment resources. The principle of separation of the vertically integrated structure of the industry was implemented. At the same time, the so-called natural monopolies - electricity transmission, operational dispatch control - were separated from competitive sectors: generation and sales, repair and service.

Monopolies, as well as nuclear power plants, remained under state control, while generating, marketing and repair companies had to become private and compete with each other. Due to this, preconditions were created for a free electricity market, where prices are not set by the state, but are determined on the basis of the ratio of supply and demand. As expected, private energy companies will become interested in increasing efficiency and reducing costs.

On the basis of thermal generation, six extraterritorial structures were created - wholesale generating companies (WGCs). HPPs (RusHydro company) were separated into a separate structure. In addition, 14 territorial generating companies (TGCs) were created, which included mainly thermal power plants. On the basis of distribution networks, inter-regional distribution grid companies (IDGCs) arose, united into a holding company, the controlling stake of which remained with the state (unlike, for example, in Ukraine, where all oblenergos were transformed into independent companies). Finally, the backbone networks came under the control of the Federal Grid Company (FGC).

Government Decree “On reforming the electric power industry Russian Federation” was adopted in July 2001, the real reform started in 2003. By the beginning of 2008, the formation of WGCs and TGCs was completed, which were privatized. The new owners, which included both state-owned (Gazprom, Inter RAO) and Russian and foreign private companies (Norilsk Nickel, Oleg Deripaska's Eurosibenergo, Italian Enel, German E.ON), signed very serious investment commitments.

On the whole, since 2008 the Russian energy market has been living and operating according to the new rules. But the results of this work look very contradictory and do not fully satisfy both the government and electricity consumers.

The most notable effect of the reform was the increase in electricity tariffs, which more than doubled in five years. And if for the population its cost is set by the state and is still kept at a relatively low level, then industrial enterprises sometimes pay more than their European competitors. By 2012, average prices for industrial consumers in Russia came close to the American level (Fig. 6) - despite the fact that before the reform they were more than two times lower.

Rice. 6. Average electricity prices for industrial consumers
in Russia and the USA, in US cents per 1 kWh

Since 2002, prices for industry have increased by 2.7 times, which has deprived the domestic economy of one of its most important competitive advantages-lower electricity costs compared to other developed countries. The unpredictable increase in the cost of electricity has called into question the competitiveness of Russia in the world market. Thus, the profitability of energy-intensive industries has noticeably decreased: if, for example, in metallurgy in 2008 it was 21–32%, then in 2012 it was 6–13%, which is even lower than in the crisis year of 2009.

The competition, on which such hopes were placed, did not justify itself. Despite the creation of a wholesale electricity market in Russia and deregulation of prices for industrial consumers, tariffs continue to rise and the quality of services provided by the industry remains low. Especially noticeable is the lack of free choice of supplier.

The situation with the connection of new consumers, primarily industrial ones, has sharply worsened. According to the Institute for Natural Monopoly Problems, the unit cost of connection per 1 kW of power in 2010 was 1.5 thousand dollars, while in other countries the connection is either free of charge or costs from 50 to 200 dollars. and the difficulty of getting new consumers online has become a huge problem. This process takes an average of more than nine months. According to some Russian experts, this factor is one of the main barriers to the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia.

Finally, investments in the Russian energy sector have not been received in the required volume. The investment obligations assumed by the new owners of OGKs and TGKs were not fulfilled. According to Rosstat, in 2009 (that is, after the completion of the reform) 1.9 million kW of new capacities were commissioned. This is lower than in 2005 (2.2 million kW), significantly lower than in 1990 (3.7 million kW), and even more so than in 1985 (9 million kW). In 2011, capacity commissioning indicators decreased and amounted to 1.5 million kW. Figures for individual five-year plans testify even more eloquently (Table 1).

Table 1. Commissioning of new capacities in the electric power industry by five years, million kW

The development of world energy at the beginning of the XXI century. will be determined by the complex impact of many economic, natural, scientific, technical and political factors. An estimate of the long-term growth in energy consumption, based on the assumed pace of development of the world energy industry, leads to the conclusion that the average annual increase up to 2030-2050 will probably be 2-3%. In it will be much larger. Given the projected population growth to 8.5 billion by 2025, of which 80% will live in developing countries, it can be expected that these countries will play a decisive role in world energy consumption. This will cause a sharp increase in its production. An increase in electricity production will entail severe environmental pollution. The role in energy supply will increase in the future, given the vast reserves of this raw material, as well as the environmental friendliness of this type of fuel.

The transition from oil to gas is the third energy revolution (the first is the transition from wood to coal, the second is from coal to oil). Oil has now become the last resource in the energy balance of the world. Oil prices will determine the pace of restructuring of the global energy balance. It is believed that consumption in the world will increase by 2030 to almost 8 billion tons, since it is very expensive to convert all coal thermal power plants to oil or gas.

At the International Conference on the Use of Energy Resources (, 1989), an effective solution to the problem was achieved, which increased the number of supporters of its development in many.

On the contrary, in (province of Ontario) a moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants has been declared. Nuclear power plants in Eastern Europe are of serious concern, although the nuclear power plants operating in Slovakia are among the best in the world in terms of their performance. The problems of non-waste use of natural uranium as a disposable fuel, as well as the processing and destruction of radioactive waste are being solved.

Different attitudes in many countries to the use of hydropower resources. Only China is planning large hydropower plants. Up to 2000, 60 large HPPs with a total capacity of 70 GW are being designed on the rivers of China.

The most promising direction in energy production involves the use of solar energy (photovoltaic conversion) and the temperature gradient of the ocean for electricity generation, wind energy, geothermal energy, rock energy and energy, fuel cells, wood-to-liquid fuel processing, urban waste processing, biogas application obtained during the processing of industrial and agricultural waste. Developed countries are leading in the development of these technologies, primarily Japan, Canada, and Denmark. In addition, there are developments on how to increase the use of hydro resources, build stations of small capacity at water treatment plants, irrigation canals, using a new design of hydroelectric power plants with low water pressure.

The modern development of the economy has sharply revealed the main problems in the development of the energy complex. The era of hydrocarbons is slowly but surely coming to its logical conclusion. She must be replaced innovative technologies, which are associated with the main energy perspectives.

Problems of the energy complex

Perhaps, one of the most important problems of the energy complex can be considered the high cost of energy, which, in turn, leads to an increase in the cost of production. Despite the fact that in recent years there have been active developments that can allow the use of, none of them is currently capable of completely displacing hydrocarbons from the global energy arena. Alternative technologies are an addition to traditional sources, but not a replacement, at least not yet.

In the conditions of Russia, the problem is further aggravated by the state of decline of the energy complex. Power generating complexes are not in the best condition, many power plants are physically destroyed. As a result, the cost of electricity does not decrease, but constantly increases.

For a long time, the world energy community relied on the atom, but this direction of development can also be called a dead end. In European countries, there is a trend towards the gradual abandonment of nuclear power plants. The failure of the energy of the atom is also emphasized by the fact that over the long decades of development it has not been able to displace hydrocarbons.

Development prospects

As already noted, energy development prospects are primarily associated with the development of effective alternative sources. The most studied areas in this area are:

• Biofuel.
• Wind power.
• Geothermal energy.
• Solar energy.
• Thermonuclear power engineering (UTS).
• Hydrogen energy.
• Tidal energy.

None of these directions is able to solve the problem of the energy crisis, when simply supplementing old energy sources with alternative ones is no longer enough. Developments are carried out in different directions and are at different stages of their development. Nevertheless, it is already possible to outline the range of technologies that can initiate:

• Vortex heat generators. Such installations have been used for a long time, having found their application in the heat supply of houses. The working fluid pumped through the pipeline system is heated up to 90 degrees. Despite all the advantages of the technology, it is still far from the final completion of development. For example, recently the possibility of using air rather than liquid as a working medium has been actively studied.
• Cold nuclear fusion. Another technology that has been developing since the late 80s of the last century. It is based on the idea of ​​obtaining nuclear energy without ultrahigh temperatures. While the direction is at the stage of laboratory and practical research.
• At the stage of industrial designs are magnetomechanical power amplifiers that use the Earth's magnetic field in their work. Under its influence, the power of the generator increases and the amount of electricity received increases.
• Power installations based on the idea of ​​dynamic superconductivity seem to be very promising. The essence of the idea is simple - at a certain speed, dynamic superconductivity arises, which makes it possible to generate a powerful magnetic field. Research in this area has been going on for a long time, and considerable theoretical and practical material has been accumulated.

This is only a tiny list of innovative technologies, each of which has sufficient development potential. In general, the world scientific community is able to develop not only alternative energy sources, which can already be called old, but also truly innovative technologies.

It should be noted that in recent years, more and more technologies have appeared that until recently seemed fantastic. The development of such energy sources can completely transform the familiar world. We will name only the most famous of them:

• nanoconductor batteries.
• Technologies of wireless power transmission.
• Atmospheric electric power industry, etc.

It should be expected that other technologies will appear in the coming years, the development of which will make it possible to abandon the use of hydrocarbons and, importantly, to reduce the cost of energy.

As you know, at this time, the industry faces a number of problems. The most important of which is ecological problem. In Russia, the emission of harmful substances into environment per unit of production exceeds that in the West by 6-10 times. Thus, in 2000, the volume of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere amounted to 3.9 million tons (98% of the 1999 level), including emissions from thermal power plants - 3.5 million tons (90%). Sulfur dioxide accounts for up to 40% of total emissions, solids - 30%, nitrogen oxides - 24%. Thus, thermal power plants are the main cause of the formation of acid precipitation.

The largest pollutants of the atmosphere are Reftinskaya GRES (the city of Asbest, Sverdlovsk region) -360 thousand tons, Novocherkasskaya (Novocherkassk, Rostov region) - 122 thousand tons, Troitskaya (Troitsk-5, Chelyabinsk region) - 103 thousand tons, Primorskaya (Luchegorsk, Primorsky Territory) - 77 thousand tons, Verkhnetagilskaya GRES (Sverdlovsk region) - 72 thousand tons

The energy industry is also the largest consumer of fresh and sea water, which is used for cooling the units and used as a heat carrier. The industry accounts for 77% of the total volume of fresh water used by Russian industry. The extensive development of production, the accelerated build-up of huge capacities led to the fact that not enough attention was paid to the environmental factor. After the catastrophe at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, under the influence of the public in Russia, the pace of development of nuclear energy was significantly slowed down. Of course, this is not surprising. After all, the accident at this station (Ukraine, north of Kyiv) on April 26, 1986, in terms of long-term consequences, became the largest catastrophe that occurred in the entire historical period of human existence. For the first time, hundreds of thousands of people faced the real danger of a "peaceful atom", the inevitability of an emergency in the conditions of the scientific and technological revolution, the unpreparedness of society and the state to prevent them and minimize their consequences.

Immediately after the accident, the total area of ​​pollution amounted to 200 thousand km2. The area of ​​pollution, where the elevated level of pollution persists is 10 thousand km 2 . There are about 640 settlements with a population of over 230 thousand people. Radioactive contamination of the environment within Ukraine, Belarus, and some regions of Russia remains an extremely acute problem. Therefore, the previously existing program to accelerate the achievement of a total nuclear power plant capacity of 100 million kW (the United States has already reached this indicator) was actually mothballed. Huge direct losses were caused by the closure of all nuclear power plants under construction in Russia, the stations, recognized by foreign experts as quite reliable, were frozen even at the stage of equipment installation. However, the situation has been changing lately: in June 1993, the fourth power unit of the Balakovo NPP was launched, and in the next few years it is planned to launch several more nuclear power plants and additional power units of a fundamentally new design.

Thus, one of the important problems of energy is environmental, which is directly related to the use of equipment at power plants. So, improper, careless handling of equipment can lead to unforeseen consequences. In my opinion, the state should first of all pay attention to this particular problem, provide a perfect system for protecting the entire population from radioactive emissions.

Another unresolved problem in the power industry is the problem of using outdated equipment. About one-fifth of production assets in the electric power industry are close to or have exceeded their design life and require reconstruction or replacement. As is well known, equipment is being upgraded at an unacceptably slow pace and in a clearly insufficient volume.

The next unresolved problem of the electric power industry at the moment was the problem of financing and the collapse of economic ties.

As for the prospects for the development of the Russian electric power industry, we can conclude that without unresolved problems, the prosperity of this industry is simply impossible! In my opinion, the government should first of all pay attention to the energy sector in Russia, which needs to fulfill certain tasks.

1. Reducing the energy intensity of production.

2. Preservation of the unified energy system of Russia.

3. Increasing the power factor of the e/s.

4. Full transition to market relations, release of energy prices, full transition to world prices, possible rejection of clearing. 5. The fastest renewal of the fleet of e / s.

6. Bringing the environmental parameters of e / s to the level of world standards. For this period of time, to solve all these measures, the government program "Fuel and Energy" has been adopted, which is a collection of specific recommendations for the effective management of the industry and its transition from a planned-administrative to a market investment system.

Systematic forecasts for the development of the entire electric power complex are carried out by a few groups of experts who develop so-called “models” of the entire fuel and energy complex.

Thus, the structure of electricity production according to the "Strategy of inertia" scenario is presented in this graph.

Schedule #1.

At the same time, experts believe that the investments required for the development of power generation and power grid facilities until 2020 (taking into account the compensation for retired capacities) amount to another $457 billion in 2005 prices ($420 billion, according to the estimates of the Ministry of Industry and Energy). Thus, the total required capital investments in the domestic fuel and energy complex in 2006-2020. may exceed 1 trillion dollars (I,12) At the same time, the ability of the fuel and energy complex to mobilize such funds is far from obvious, especially if we bear in mind the possible decline in oil and gas prices on world markets and the likelihood of private investors coming into the electric power industry. In the event of a failure in the power industry, the "energy hunger" will worsen, and the pace of economic growth will slow down. But even the successful mobilization of such huge funds, partly by diverting them from less capital-intensive sectors of the economy, will lead to a slowdown in economic growth and an increase in the overload of the investment complex of the economy, which will respond (and is already responding) by increasing the cost of building a unit capacity.

Therefore, the prosperity of the energy industry in Russia can be judged on the basis of the basic provisions about what kind of investors will be and how much money will be spent on the development of this industry.

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1. Historical and geographical features of the development of the electric power industry in Russia. . . . . . . . . . .4

2. Territorial distribution of power industry production in the Russian Federation. 6

3. Unified energy system of the country. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

4. Problems and prospects for the development of the electric power industry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

CONCLUSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

List of sources used. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

ANNEX 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

APPENDIX 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

APPENDIX 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

APPENDIX 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

APPENDIX 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

INTRODUCTION

Electric power industry, the leading and integral part of the energy industry. It ensures the generation (production), transformation and consumption of electricity, in addition, the electric power industry plays a district-forming role (being the core of the material and technical base of society), and also contributes to the optimization of the territorial organization of productive forces. In economically developed countries, the technical means of the electric power industry are combined into automated and centrally controlled electric power systems.

The electric power industry, along with other sectors of the national economy, is considered as part of a single national economic system. At present, without electrical energy, our life is unthinkable. The electric power industry has invaded all spheres of human activity: industry and agriculture, science and space. Without electricity, the operation of modern means of communication and the development of cybernetics, computer and space technology is impossible. It is impossible to imagine our life without electricity.

Industry remains the main consumer of electricity, although its share in the total useful consumption of electricity is significantly reduced. Electrical energy in industry is used to drive various mechanisms and directly in technological processes.

In agriculture, electricity is used to heat greenhouses and livestock buildings, lighting, automating manual labor on farms.

Electricity plays a huge role in the transport complex. A large amount of electricity is consumed by electrified railway transport, which makes it possible to increase the capacity of roads by increasing the speed of trains, reduce the cost of transportation, and increase fuel economy.

Electricity in everyday life is the main part of ensuring a comfortable life for people. Many household appliances (refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, irons, and others) were created thanks to the development of the electrical industry.

Therefore, the relevance of the topic I have chosen is obvious, just as the importance of the electric power industry in the economic life of our country is obvious.

So, the objectives and purpose of this work are:

Consider the structure of the electric power industry;

Study its placement;

Consider the current level of development of the electric power industry;

To characterize the features of the development and location of the electric power industry in Russia.

Historical and geographical features of the development of the electric power industry in Russia.

The development of the electric power industry in Russia is connected with the GOELRO plan (1920) for a period of 15 years, which provided for the construction of 10 HPPs with a total capacity of 640 thousand kW. The plan was carried out ahead of schedule: by the end of 1935, 40 regional power plants had been built. Thus, the GOELRO plan created the basis for the industrialization of Russia, and it took the second place in the production of electricity in the world.

At the beginning of the 20th century, coal dominated the structure of energy consumption. For example, in developed countries by 1950. coal accounted for 74% and oil for 17% of total energy consumption. At the same time, the main share of energy resources was used within the countries where they were produced.

The average annual growth rate of energy consumption in the world in the first half of the XX century. accounted for 2-3%, and in 1950-1975. - already 5%.

To cover the increase in energy consumption in the second half of the 20th century. The global structure of energy consumption is undergoing major changes. In the 50-60s. oil and gas are increasingly replacing coal. In the period from 1952 to 1972. oil was cheap. Its price on the world market reached $14/t. In the second half of the 1970s, the development of large deposits of natural gas also began and its consumption gradually increased, displacing coal.

Until the early 1970s, the growth in energy consumption was mostly extensive. In developed countries, its pace was actually determined by the growth rate of industrial production. Meanwhile, the developed fields are beginning to be depleted, and imports of energy resources, primarily oil, begin to grow.

In 1973 an energy crisis broke out. The world oil price jumped to $250-300/ton. One of the reasons for the crisis was the reduction of its production in easily accessible places and the movement to areas with extreme natural conditions and to the continental shelf. Another reason was the desire of the main oil exporting countries (OPEC members), which are mainly developing countries, to more effectively use their advantages as owners of the bulk of the world's reserves of this valuable raw material.

During this period, the leading countries of the world were forced to revise their concepts of energy development. As a result, energy consumption growth forecasts have become more moderate. A significant place in the energy development programs began to be given to energy saving. If before the energy crisis of the 1970s, energy consumption in the world was predicted by 2000 at the level of 20-25 billion tons of standard fuel, then after it the forecasts were adjusted towards a noticeable decrease to 12.4 billion tons of standard fuel.

Industrialized countries are taking the most serious measures to ensure savings in the consumption of primary energy resources. Energy conservation is increasingly one of the central places in their national economic concepts. There is a restructuring of the sectoral structure of national economies. Preference is given to low energy-intensive industries and technologies. There is a curtailment of energy-intensive industries. Energy-saving technologies are actively developing, first of all, in energy-intensive industries: metallurgy, metalworking industry, and transport. Large-scale scientific and technical programs are being implemented to search for and develop alternative energy technologies. Between the early 70s and the late 80s. energy intensity of GDP in the United States decreased by 40%, in Japan - by 30%.

In the same period, there is a rapid development of nuclear energy. In the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s, about 65% of the currently operating nuclear power plants were put into operation in the world.

During this period, the concept of energy security of the state is introduced into political and economic use. The energy strategies of developed countries are aimed not only at reducing the consumption of specific energy carriers (coal or oil), but also in general at reducing the consumption of any energy resources and diversifying their sources.

As a result of all these measures in developed countries, the average annual growth rate of consumption of primary energy resources has noticeably decreased: from 1.8% in the 80s. up to 1.45% in 1991-2000 According to the forecast until 2015, it will not exceed 1.25%.

In the second half of the 1980s, another factor appeared that today has an increasing influence on the structure and development trends of the fuel and energy complex. Scientists and politicians around the world have been actively talking about the consequences of human impact on nature, in particular, the impact of fuel and energy facilities on the environment. The tightening of international requirements for environmental protection in order to reduce the greenhouse effect and emissions into the atmosphere (according to the decision of the conference in Kyoto in 1997) should lead to a decrease in the consumption of coal and oil as the most environmentally influencing energy resources, as well as stimulate the improvement of existing and the creation of new energy technologies.

Territorial location of power generation facilities in the Russian Federation.

The electric power industry, more than all other industries, contributes to the development and territorial optimization of the distribution of productive forces. This is expressed in the following (according to A.T. Khrushchev): 1) fuel and energy resources remote from consumers are involved in the use; 2) an intermediate withdrawal of electricity is possible to supply it to areas through which high-voltage power lines pass, which contributes to an increase in the level of territorial development of these areas, an increase in the efficiency of the economy and the level of comfort of living in them; 3) there are additional opportunities for the creation of electricity-intensive and heat-intensive industries (in which the share of fuel and energy costs in the cost of finished products is very high); 4) the electric power industry is of great district-forming importance, it is it that largely determines the production specialization of the regions.

The experience of developing the domestic electric power industry has developed the following principles for the location and operation of enterprises in this industry: 1) concentration of electricity production at large regional power plants using relatively cheap fuel and energy resources; 2) combining the production of electricity and heat for the heating of settlements, primarily cities; 3) extensive development of hydro resources, taking into account the integrated solution of the problems of the electric power industry, transport, water supply, irrigation, and fish farming; 4) the need for the development of nuclear energy, especially in areas with a tense fuel and energy balance, subject to emphasized and exclusive attention to compliance with the rules for operating nuclear power plants, ensuring the safety and reliability of their operation; 5) creation of energy systems that form a single high-voltage network of the country.

The location of electric power enterprises depends on a number of factors, the main ones being fuel and energy resources and consumers. According to the degree of provision with fuel and energy resources, the regions of Russia can be divided into three groups: 1) the highest - the Far East, East Siberian, West Siberian; 2) relatively high - Northern, North Caucasian; 3) low - Northwestern, Central, Central Black Earth, Volga, Ural.

The location of fuel and energy resources does not coincide with the location of the population, production and consumer of electricity. The vast majority of electricity produced is consumed in the European part of Russia. In terms of electricity generation among economic regions by the end of the 1990s. the Central one stood out, and in terms of consumption - the Urals. Among the areas with electricity shortages: Ural, Northern, Central Chernozemny, Volga-Vyatka (see Appendix 1).

Large power plants play a significant regional-forming role. On their basis, energy-intensive and heat-intensive industries arise.

The electric power industry includes thermal power plants, nuclear power plants, hydroelectric power plants (including pumped storage and tidal power plants), other power plants (wind, solar, geothermal), electrical networks, heat networks, independent boiler houses.

Thermal power plants (TPP). The main type of power plants in Russia are thermal, operating on fossil fuels (coal, gas, fuel oil, shale, peat). The main role is played by powerful (more than 2 million kW) state district power plants (GRES), which meet the needs of the economic region and operate in energy systems. The placement of thermal power plants is mainly influenced by fuel and consumer factors.

When choosing a site for the construction of a thermal power plant, the comparative efficiency of transporting fuel and electricity is taken into account. If the cost of transporting fuel exceeds the cost of transmitting electricity, it is advisable to place it directly at fuel sources; with a higher efficiency of fuel transportation, power plants are located near consumers of electricity. The most powerful thermal power plants are located, as a rule, in places where fuel is extracted (the larger the power plant, the farther it can transmit energy).

GRES with a capacity of more than 2 million kW are located in the following economic regions: Central (Kostroma, Ryazanskaya, Konakovskaya); Ural (Reftinskaya, Troitskaya, Iriklinskaya); Volga region (Zainskaya); East Siberian (Nazarovskaya); West Siberian (Surgut); Northwestern (Kirishskaya) (see Appendix 2).

Thermal power plants also include combined heat and power plants (CHP), which provide heat to enterprises and housing, with the simultaneous production of electricity. CHP plants are located at the points of consumption of steam and hot water, since the radius of heat transfer is small (10-12 km).

Positive properties of TPP:

Relatively free deployment associated with the wide distribution of fuel resources in Russia;

The ability to generate electricity without seasonal fluctuations, unlike hydroelectric power plants).

Negative properties of TPP:

Use non-renewable fuel resources;

Possess low coefficient of performance (COP);

Have an adverse impact on the environment;

They have high costs for the extraction, transportation, processing and disposal of fuel waste.

Hydraulic power plants (HPP). They rank second in terms of the amount of electricity generated. Hydroelectric power plants are an efficient source of energy, since they use renewable resources, they are easy to manage (the number of personnel at HPPs is 15-20 times less than at GRES), they have a high efficiency factor (more than 80%) 1 , and they produce the cheapest energy.

The determining influence on the location of hydroelectric power plants is exerted by the size of the reserves of hydroresources, natural (the terrain, the nature of the river, its regime, etc.) and economic (the amount of damage from flooding of the territory associated with the creation of a dam and a hydroelectric reservoir, damage to fisheries, etc.), conditions their use.

The reserves of water resources and the efficiency of the use of water energy in the regions of Russia are different. Most of the country's hydropower resources (more than 2/3 of the reserves) are concentrated in Eastern Siberia and the Far East. In the same areas, natural conditions are exceptionally favorable for the construction and operation of hydroelectric power stations - high water content, natural regulation of rivers (for example, the Angara River by Lake Baikal), which allow generating electricity at powerful hydroelectric power stations evenly, without seasonal fluctuations, the presence of rocky foundations for the construction of high dams, etc.

These and other features determine the higher economic efficiency of HPP construction here (specific capital investments are 2-3 times lower, and the cost of electricity is 4-5 times cheaper) than in the regions of the European part of the country. Therefore, the largest hydroelectric power stations in the country were built on the rivers of Eastern Siberia (Angara, Yenisei). On the Angara, Yenisei and other rivers of Russia, the construction of hydroelectric power stations is carried out, as a rule, in cascades, which are a group of power plants located in steps along the water flow, for the sequence of using its energy. The world's largest Angara-Yenisei hydropower cascade has a total capacity of about 22 million kW. It includes hydroelectric power plants: Sayano-Shushenskaya, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Bratsk, Ust-Ilimsk.

A cascade of powerful power plants has also been created in the European part of the country on the Volga and Kama (Volga-Kama cascade): Volzhskaya (near Samara), Volzhskaya (near Volgograd), Saratovskaya, Cheboksarskaya, Votkinskaya, etc.

Annex 3 presents the main cascades of HPPs in Russia.

Less powerful hydroelectric power plants have been built in the Far East, in Western Siberia, in the North Caucasus and in other regions of Russia. In the European part of the country, which is experiencing an acute shortage of electricity, it is very promising to build a special type of hydroelectric power plants - pumped storage (PSPP). One of these power plants has already been built - the Zagorskaya PSP (1.2 million kW) in the Moscow region.

Positive properties of HPPs: higher maneuverability and reliability of equipment operation; high labor productivity; renewable energy source; no costs for extraction, transportation and disposal of waste fuel; low cost.

Negative properties of HPPs: the possibility of flooding settlements, farmland and communications; negative impact on odds, fauna; high cost of construction.

Nuclear power plants (NPP) produce electricity cheaper than thermal power plants running on coal or fuel oil. Their share in the total electricity generation in Russia does not exceed 11% (in Lithuania - 76%, France - 76%, Belgium - 65%, Sweden - 51%, Slovakia - 49%, Germany - 34%, Japan - 30%, USA - 20%).

The main factor in the deployment of nuclear power plants that use highly transportable, negligible fuel in their work (only a few kilograms of uranium is required for a full annual load of a nuclear power plant) is consumer fuel. The largest nuclear power plants in our country are mainly located in areas with a tight fuel and energy balance. There are 10 nuclear power plants in Russia (see Annex 4) with 30 power units. Nuclear power plants operate reactors of three main types: pressurized water (VVER), high-power channel uranium-graphite (RBMK) and fast neutrons (FN). Nuclear power plants in Russia are merged into the Rosenergoatom concern.

Positive properties of nuclear power plants: they can be built in any area, regardless of its energy resources; nuclear fuel has a high energy content; NPPs do not emit emissions into the atmosphere under conditions of trouble-free operation; do not absorb oxygen.

Negative properties of nuclear power plants: burials of radioactive waste have developed (containers with powerful protection and a cooling system are being built for their removal from the stations); thermal pollution of reservoirs used by nuclear power plants.

In the domestic electric power industry, alternative energy sources are used: the sun, wind, internal heat of the earth, sea tides. built natural power plants(PES). On tidal waves on the Kola Peninsula, the Kislogubskaya TPP (400 kW) was built, which is more than 30 years old; The Pauzhetskaya Geothermal Power Plant was built on the terminal waters of Kamchatka. There are wind power plants in the residential settlements of the Far North, and solar plants in the North Caucasus.

3. Unified energy system of the country

The power system is a group of power plants of different types, united by high-voltage power lines (TL) and controlled from one center. Power systems in the electric power industry of Russia combine the production, transmission and distribution of electricity between consumers. In the power system for each power plant, it is possible to choose the most economical mode of operation. Moreover, if the share of hydroelectric power plants in the energy system is high, then its maneuverability increases, and the cost of electricity is relatively lower; on the contrary, in a system that combines only thermal power plants, they are the most limited, and the cost of electricity is higher.

For more economical use of the potential of Russian power plants, the Unified Energy System (UES) was created, which includes more than 700 large power plants, which concentrate 84% of the capacity of all power plants in the country. The creation of the EEC has economic advantages. The United Energy Systems (IPS) of the North-West, the Center, the Volga region, the South, the North Caucasus, and the Urals are included in the UES of the European part. They are connected by such high-voltage mains as Samara - Moscow (500 kV), Samara - Chelyabinsk, Volgograd - Moscow (500 kV), Volgograd - Donbass (800 kV), Moscow - St. Petersburg (750 kV).

The main goal of creating and developing the Unified Energy System of Russia is to ensure reliable and economical power supply to consumers in Russia with the maximum possible realization of the advantages of parallel operation of power systems.

The Unified Energy System of Russia is part of a large energy association - the Unified Energy System (UES) of the former USSR, which also includes the energy systems of independent states: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Ukraine and Estonia. The energy systems of seven Eastern European countries - Bulgaria, Hungary, Eastern Germany, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia - continue to work synchronously with the UES.

The power plants that are members of the EEC generate more than 90% of the electricity produced in the independent states - the former republics of the USSR. Unification of energy systems in the UES allows: to ensure the reduction of the required total installed capacity of power plants by combining the maximum load of energy systems that have a difference in standard time and differences in load schedules; reduce the required reserve capacity at power plants; to carry out the most rational use of available primary energy resources, taking into account the changing fuel situation; reduce the cost of energy construction; improve the ecological situation.

For the joint work of electric power facilities operating as part of the Unified Energy System, a coordinating body, the Electric Power Council of the CIS countries, was created.

The system of the Russian electric power industry is characterized by rather strong regional fragmentation due to the current state of high-voltage transmission lines. At present, the power system of the Dalny District is not connected to the rest of Russia and operates independently. The connection between the power systems of Siberia and the European part of Russia is also very limited. The power systems of five European regions of Russia (North-Western, Central, Volga, Urals and North Caucasus) are interconnected, but the throughput here is on average much less than within the regions themselves. The energy systems of these five regions, as well as Siberia and the Far East, are considered in Russia as separate regional unified energy systems. They link 68 of the 77 existing regional energy systems within the country. The remaining nine power systems are completely isolated.

The advantages of the UES system, which inherited the infrastructure from the UES of the USSR, are to equalize the daily schedules of electricity consumption, including through its successive flows between time zones, improve the economic performance of power plants, and create conditions for the full electrification of territories and the entire national economy.

At the end of 1992, the Russian Joint Stock Company for Energy and Electrification (RAO UES) was registered, which was created to manage the UES and organize reliable energy saving for the national economy and the population. RAO UES includes more than 700 territorial joint-stock companies, it unites about 600 TPPs, 9 NPPs and more than 100 HPPs. RAO UES operates in parallel with the energy systems of the CIS and Baltic countries, as well as with the energy systems of some Eastern European countries. Large energy systems of Eastern Siberia still remain outside RAO UES.

The controlling stake in RAO UES is fixed in state ownership. As a natural monopolist, the company is in the system of state regulation of electricity tariffs. In some regions, such as the Far East, the federal government subsidizes energy tariffs.

In 1996, the Government of the Russian Federation created a federal (all-Russian) wholesale electricity and power market (FOREM) for the purchase and sale of electricity through high-voltage transmission networks. Virtually all electricity transmitted over the high-voltage transmission networks is technically treated as the result of a FOREM deal. This market is managed by RAO UES. On FOREM, buyers and sellers do not enter into contracts with each other. They buy and sell electricity at fixed prices, and RAO UES ensures that supply and demand match. The sellers of electricity that are not associated with RAO UES are nuclear power plants.

4. Problems and prospects for the development of the electric power industry.

The main problems in the development of the electric power industry in Russia are related to: technical backwardness and depreciation of the industry's funds, the imperfection of the economic mechanism for managing the energy sector, including pricing and investment policy, and the growth of non-payments by energy consumers. In the context of the economic crisis, the high energy intensity of production remains.

Currently, more than 18% of power plants have completely exhausted their estimated installed capacity resource. The energy saving process is very slow. The government is trying to solve the problem of different parties: at the same time, the industry is being corporatized (51% of the shares remain with the state), foreign investments are being attracted, and a program has begun to be implemented to reduce the energy intensity of production.

The following can be singled out as the main tasks for the development of the Russian energy sector: 1) reducing the energy intensity of production; 2) preservation of the unified energy system of Russia; 3) increasing the power factor of the power system; 4) complete transition to market relations, release of energy prices, full transition to world prices, possible refusal from clearing; 5) prompt renewal of the energy system fleet; 6) bringing the environmental parameters of the energy system to the level of world standards.

The industry is currently facing a number of challenges. The environmental issue is important. At this stage, in Russia, the emission of harmful substances into the environment per unit of production exceeds that in the West by 6-10 times.

Emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere by the energy companies of RAO "UES of Russia" in 2005-2007 (SO 2 , NO 2 , solid particles), thousand tons. (Fig. 1)

Picture 1.

The decrease in atmospheric emissions in 2007 compared to 2006 is explained by a decrease in the share of fuel combustion (fuel oil and coal) with a high sulfur and ash content.

In 2007, the energy companies of RAO UES of Russia achieved the following production and environmental performance:

The extensive development of production, the accelerated build-up of huge capacities led to the fact that for a long time the environmental factor was taken into account very little or was not taken into account at all. The most environmentally unfriendly coal-fired thermal power plant, near them the radioactive level is several times higher than the level of radiation in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear power plant. The use of gas in thermal power plants is much more efficient than fuel oil or coal; when burning 1 ton of standard fuel, 1.7 tons of carbon is formed compared to 2.7 tons when burning fuel oil or coal. The environmental parameters established earlier do not provide complete environmental cleanliness; in accordance with them, most power plants were built.

New standards of environmental cleanliness are included in the special state program "Environmentally Clean Energy". Taking into account the requirements of this program, several projects have already been prepared and dozens are under development. So, there is a project of Berezovskaya GRES-2 with units of 800 MW and bag filters for trapping dust, a project of a thermal power plant with combined-cycle plants with a capacity of 300 MW, a project of Rostovskaya GRES, which includes many fundamentally new technical solutions. We will separately consider the problems of the development of nuclear energy.

The nuclear industry and energy are considered in the Energy Strategy (2005-2020) as the most important part of the country's energy industry, since nuclear energy potentially has the necessary qualities to gradually replace a significant part of traditional energy on fossil fuels, and also has a developed production and construction base and sufficient capacities for the production of nuclear fuel. At the same time, the main attention is paid to ensuring nuclear safety and, above all, the safety of nuclear power plants during their operation. In addition, it is necessary to take measures for the interest in the development of the industry of the public, especially the population living near the nuclear power plant.

To ensure the planned pace of development of nuclear energy after 2020, to maintain and develop the export potential, it is already now necessary to intensify exploration work aimed at preparing a reserve raw material base of natural uranium.

The maximum option for the growth of electricity generation at nuclear power plants meets both the requirements of favorable economic development and the predicted economically optimal structure of electricity production, taking into account the geography of its consumption. At the same time, the European and Far Eastern regions of the country, as well as the northern regions with long-range imported fuel, are the economically priority area for the location of nuclear power plants. Lower levels of energy production at nuclear power plants may arise if there are public objections to the indicated scale of nuclear power plant development, which will require a corresponding increase in coal production and capacity of coal-fired power plants, including in regions where nuclear power plants have an economic priority.

The main tasks under the maximum variant: construction of new NPPs with bringing the installed capacity of nuclear power plants up to 32 GW in 2010 and up to 52.6 GW in 2020; extension of the assigned service life of existing power units up to 40-50 years of their operation in order to maximize the release of gas and oil; cost savings through the use of design and operational reserves.

In this option, in particular, it is planned to complete the construction of 5 GW nuclear power units in 2000-2010 (two units - at the Rostov NPP and one each - at the Kalinin, Kursk and Balakovo stations) and new construction of 5.8 GW nuclear power units (one unit each). at Novovoronezh, Beloyarsk, Kalinin, Balakovo, Bashkir and Kursk NPPs). In 2011 - 2020 it is planned to build four units at the Leningrad NPP, four units at the North Caucasus NPP, three units at the Bashkir NPP, two units each at the South Ural, Far East, Primorskaya, Kursk NPP-2 and Smolensk NPP-2, at the Arkhangelsk and Khabarovsk NPPs and one unit at Novovoronezh, Smolensk and Kola NPPs - 2.

At the same time in 2010 - 2020. It is planned to decommission 12 first-generation power units at the Bilibino, Kola, Kursk, Leningrad and Novovoronezh NPPs.

The main tasks under the minimum option are the construction of new units with bringing the NPP capacity up to 32 GW in 2010 and up to 35 GW in 2020 and extending the assigned service life of existing power units by 10 years.

Thermal power plants will remain the basis of the Russian electric power industry for the entire period under consideration, the share of which in the structure of the installed capacity of the industry will be 68% by 2010, and 67-70% by 2020 (69% in 2000). They will ensure the generation of 69% and 67-71% of all electricity in the country, respectively (2000 - 67%).

Given the difficult situation in the fuel-producing industries and the expected high growth in electricity generation at thermal power plants (almost 40-80% by 2020), providing power plants with fuel in the coming period will become one of the most difficult problems in the energy sector.

The total demand for fossil fuels for Russian power plants will increase from 273 mln t.f.e. in 2000 to 310-350 mln tce in 2010 and up to 320-400 mln tce in 2020. The relatively low increase in fuel demand by 2020 compared to electricity generation is associated with the almost complete replacement by this period of the existing uneconomical equipment with new highly efficient equipment, which requires the implementation of almost limiting capacity inputs of generating capacity. In the high variant in the period 2011-2015. to replace old equipment and to meet the increase in demand, it is proposed to introduce 15 million kW per year and in the period 2016-2020. up to 20 million kWh per year. Any delay in inputs will lead to a decrease in the efficiency of fuel use and, accordingly, to an increase in its consumption at power plants, compared to the levels specified in the Strategy.

The need for a radical change in the conditions of fuel supply to thermal power plants in the European regions of the country and the tightening of environmental requirements leads to significant changes in the power structure of TPPs by types of power plants and types of fuel used in these areas. The main direction should be the technical re-equipment and reconstruction of existing, as well as the construction of new thermal power plants. At the same time, priority will be given to combined-cycle and environmentally friendly coal-fired power plants, which are competitive in most of the territory of Russia and ensure an increase in the efficiency of energy production. The transition from steam turbine to combined-cycle TPPs running on gas, and later on coal, will ensure a gradual increase in the efficiency of plants up to 55%, and in the future up to 60%, which will significantly reduce the increase in fuel demand of TPPs.

For the development of the Unified Energy System of Russia, the Energy Strategy provides for:

1) creation of a strong electrical connection between the eastern and European parts of the UES of Russia, by constructing power transmission lines with a voltage of 500 and 1150 kV. The role of these ties is especially great in the context of the need to reorient European regions to the use of coal, making it possible to significantly reduce the import of eastern coal for thermal power plants;

2) strengthening of intersystem transit links between the IPS (unified energy system) of the Middle Volga - the IPS of the Center - the IPS of the North Caucasus, which makes it possible to increase the reliability of energy supply to the North Caucasus region, as well as the IPS of the Urals - the IPS of the Middle Volga - the IPS of the Center and the IPS of the Urals - the IPS of the North-West for issuing surplus power at the Tyumen State District Power Plant;

3) strengthening of backbone links between the UPS of the North-West and the Center;

4) development of electrical communication between the IPS of Siberia and the IPS of the East, which makes it possible to ensure the parallel operation of all energy interconnections of the country and guarantee a reliable energy supply to deficient regions of the Far East.

Alternative energy. Despite the fact that Russia is still in the sixth ten countries of the world in terms of the degree of use of the so-called non-traditional and renewable types of energy, the development of this direction is of great importance, especially considering the size of the country's territory. The resource potential of non-traditional and renewable energy sources is about 5 billion tons of standard fuel per year, and the economic potential in its most general form reaches at least 270 million tons of standard fuel (Fig. 2).

So far, all attempts to use non-traditional and renewable energy sources in Russia are experimental and semi-experimental, or at best, such sources play the role of local, strictly local energy producers. The latter also applies to the use of wind energy. This is because Russia is not yet experiencing a shortage of traditional energy sources and its reserves of organic fuel and nuclear fuel are still quite large. However, even today in remote or hard-to-reach regions of Russia, where there is no need to build a large power plant, and there is often no one to maintain it, “non-traditional” sources of electricity are the best solution to the problem.

The planned levels of development and technical re-equipment of the branches of the energy sector of the country are impossible without a corresponding increase in production in the branches of the energy (nuclear, electrical, oil and gas, petrochemical, mining, etc.) engineering, metallurgy and chemical industry of Russia, as well as the construction complex. Their necessary development is the task of the entire economic policy of the state.

CONCLUSION

Today, the capacity of all power plants in Russia is about 212.8 million kW. In recent years, there have been huge organizational changes in the energy sector. A joint-stock company RAO "UES of Russia" was established, managed by the board of directors and engaged in the production, distribution and export of electricity. It is the world's largest centrally controlled energy association. In fact, Russia retained a monopoly on the production of electricity.

In the development of the power industry, great importance is attached to the correct location of the electric power industry. The most important condition for the rational placement of power plants is a comprehensive account of the need for electricity in all sectors of the national economy of the country and the needs of the population, as well as each economic region in the future.

One of the principles for locating the electric power industry at the current stage of development of the market economy is the predominant construction of thermal power plants of small capacity, the introduction of new types of fuel, and the development of a network of long-distance high-voltage power transmission lines.

An essential feature of the development and location of the electric power industry is the widespread construction of combined heat and power plants (CHP) for heating various industries and public utilities.

The main type of power plants in Russia are thermal, operating on fossil fuels (coal, gas, fuel oil, shale, peat). They account for about 68% of electricity generation.

The main role is played by powerful (more than 2 million kW) GRES - state district power plants that meet the needs of the economic region and operate in energy systems.

The hydroelectric power station ranks second in terms of the amount of electricity generated (in 2000, about 18%). Hydroelectric power plants are a very efficient source of energy, since they use renewable resources, they are easy to manage (the number of personnel at HPPs is 15-20 times less than at GRES) and have a high efficiency - more than 80%. As a result, the energy produced at hydroelectric power stations is the cheapest.

The advantages of nuclear power plants are that they can be built in any region, regardless of its energy resources; nuclear fuel is distinguished by a high energy content (1 kg of the main nuclear fuel - uranium - contains as much energy as 2500 tons of coal). Nuclear power plants do not emit emissions into the atmosphere under conditions of trouble-free operation (unlike thermal power plants), they do not absorb oxygen.

In recent years, interest has increased in Russia in the use of alternative energy sources - the sun, wind, internal heat of the Earth, sea tides.

A program has been developed, according to which in the first half of the XXI century. should build wind power plants - Kalmyk, Tuva, Magadan, Primorskaya and geothermal power plants - Verkhne-Mugimovskaya, Okeanskaya.

In the future, Russia should abandon the construction of new large thermal and hydraulic stations, which require huge investments and create environmental tension. It is planned to build a thermal power plant of small and medium capacity and small nuclear power plants in remote northern and eastern regions. In the Far East, the development of hydropower is envisaged through the construction of a cascade of medium and small hydropower plants. New powerful condensing power plants will be built using coal from the Kansk-Achinsk basin.

List of sources used

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Koz'eva I.A., Kuzbozhev E.N. Economic Geography and Regional Studies: Textbook for High Schools. - 2nd ed., revised. and additional - Kursk. KSTU. 2004

Makarov A. Power industry of Russia: production prospects and economic relations. – Society and Economics, No. 7-8, 2003

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1. http://www. gks .ru/

2. http://www. elephant .ru/

APPENDIX 1.

Electricity generation by economic regions of Russia 2

Energy production and distribution 3

APPENDIX 2

GRES with a capacity of more than 2 million kW

APPENDIX 3.

Location of the main HPP cascades

APPENDIX 4

Nuclear power plants in Russia