IN DEPTH | Moscow is planning to add gigawatts of wind power in the coming years, but how will local-content rules and a lack of price guarantees impact the build-out, asks Bernd Radowitz
Rules which require between 55% and 65% local content and a lack of price guarantees could dampen Moscow's plans to attract more foreign investment in wind power. Other negatives include potential changes to legislation, international sanctions and poor transport infrastructure. Despite these factors, 3.29 GW wind capacity has been awarded in annual government auctions since 2015, with June's 830 MW auction attracting 2.21 GW of bids. Russia's complex remuneration system, which is based on capacity and return on investment rather than the price of energy, saw winning bids equivalent to $205-228/MWh - more than four times recent German prices.