Abstract
Industrial low-temperature processes are a promising sector for the introduction of solar collectors, which can partially, and in some cases, completely, replace traditional heat supply technologies. In Krasnodar Region (Russia), it is shown that the energy-saving potential when introducing industrial solar collectors only at food industry enterprises can make up 16%–17% of the total amount of thermal energy produced in the region annually. The global market of industrial solar collectors is currently developing almost without any government incentives, only due to market mechanisms, which indicates the commercial attractiveness of the technology. According to the predicted estimates, levelized cost of energy produced by industrial solar collectors in the southern regions of Russia may amount to 3.8–6.6 rubles per kWh. Even though the forecast estimates are higher than current tariffs, the economic feasibility of using solar collectors in the industry increases significantly if it is not possible to connect to centralized heating networks, as well as in the case of the seasonal load of industrial facilities. As a measure of state incentives for the development of industrial solar collectors in Russia, we offer state co-financing of demonstration projects of Russian manufacturers. This will increase the level of awareness of the population and businesses about the capabilities of this technology. Also, it will increase the technical competencies and innovative potential of companies involved in the production and installation of solar collectors.
Highlights
In recent decades, renewable energy has developed enormously throughout the world
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: in Section 2 we describe materials for the study and basic methodology; Section 3 gives a brief overview of the research background and particular main trends and status-quo of industrial solar collectors in the world and in Russia; in Section 4 we present the results of calculations for estimation of the expected economic efficiency of industrial solar collectors in the southern regions of Russia and estimation of the potential for their use in the Krasnodar Region; Section 5 discusses the results of the study and gives some policy recommendations; the final section concludes the study and discusses its added value for academic literature
We investigated the prospects for the development of solar collectors in the industry of the southern regions of Russia
Summary
The transition to renewable energy sources is considered both in academic and business societies as an essential step towards the formation of a circular economy and achieving sustainable development goals [1,2]. The average annual growth rate of installed capacity of renewable energy sources (RES) in the period from 2009-2018 amounted to 8.4% [3], and, starting from 2015, net capacity additions for renewable power are higher than for fossil fuels and nuclear all together [4]. The average annual growth rate of energy generation based on renewable energy sources in the period from 2009–2017 amounted to almost 6% (Figure 1). At the end of 2017, investments in renewable energy-based electricity generation for the first time in history exceeded investments in traditional types of electricity generation (including nuclear energy), most of which came from countries with developing economies [5]. Despite an Energies 2020, 13, 885; doi:10.3390/en13040885 www.mdpi.com/journal/energies
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