Coal production in Russia in May 2022 is lower by 4.2 million tons than in March 0f 2022; the share of hydrocarbon combustion in the total energy production remains unchanged at 71% and the level of gasification remains the same.

 

Two other indicators were chosen to analyze climate progress in Russia:

• Indicator #1 – The volume of coal production in Russia as the more coal Russia produce the more coal used in domestic and exports purposes.
• Indicator #2 – Level of national gasification has remained the same.
• Indicator #3 – Share of hydrocarbon combustion in the total energy production which shows the ratio of energy produced by gas and coal-fired TPPs to the total volume of electricity generation. The rest of the energy in Russia is clean – nuclear and hydro.

 

In analyzing indicator #1 in May 2022, coal production was lower by 4.2 million tons than in March of that year. Besides, in March 2021 coal production was higher by 1 million ton and in May 2021 coal production was higher by 1.3 million tons which indirectly indicates a decrease in demand for this type of resource. The reason for the decline in production is obviously related to the reduction in coal purchases from Europe, which buys less and less coal every year. Part of the supply has been redirected to Asian markets, where demand for coal exceeds the capacity of Russian railways to transport coal. However, a longer observation period is required to draw conclusions about the state of the industry at the end of the year.

Indicator #2 retained its value, but recall that the planned indicator for 2022 is 73%. The latest current data is available at the time of April 1 and so far, confirms only the previous value of 72%. It is necessary to continue monitoring this indicator.

Indicator #3 indicates a significant reduction in the use of electricity derived from hydrocarbons in May 2022 compared to March 2022. This is due to both a gradual decrease in the share of coal-fired generation and an increase in the share of nuclear generation, and mostly due to the change of the season of the year – in a warmer period the need for additional TPP capacities decreases. It is necessary to compare these indicators for the next years to make a conclusion.

 

This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard Russia Country Manager Michael Oshchepkov