State Management of Energy Efficiency Improvement in Agricultural Regions of the Russian Federation

Abstract

The sustainable development of the Russian Federation and its subjects, associated with limiting the negative impact of economic entities on the environment and ensuring the rational use of natural resources of the territory, is not just following the modern trends of the international community to reduce the energy intensity of the national economy, but also economic expediency caused by increasing the competitiveness and energy efficiency of economic entities and regions of the country by reducing energy costs in production products. Agriculture as one of the energy-intensive sectors of the economy (the second after industry, which accounts for over 12% of electricity consumption in the country) is characterized by a significant diversity in the levels and rates of energy consumption in different regions of the country, which of course requires consideration in public administration and implementation of regional energy conservation policies. In this regard, the article proposes a typological grouping of agricultural regions of Russia, which is based on the growth rates of energy production, energy consumption, agricultural production and the share of agriculture in regional energy consumption. The originality of the study lies in the fact that on the basis of a geographically sectoral approach, the grouping of agricultural regions of the country is carried out not according to the actual volumes of agricultural products produced (as it is typical in such cases), but according to the amount of energy resources (electricity) consumed by agriculture in a particular subject of the Russian Federation, which allows obtaining more relevant data. The research results obtained in this way allow us to develop incident measures and additive mechanisms for improving energy efficiency, taking into account the specifics of the energy development of the industry and the trends of sustainable development of the region. The article contains elements of novelty in the formulation of the problem and the research methodology presented by the typology of agricultural regions of Russia. The article contributes to the evaluation of management decisions at the regional level in the framework of the implementation of energy conservation policy and the application of regional energy efficiency programs.