Russia is recently heading towards developing its projects in the field of renewable energy to reduce dependence on traditional fossil fuels, and also with the emergence of the need to find alternative solutions to face economic challenges and Western sanctions imposed on several sectors, most notably the energy sector.
Will the energy strategic transformation towards renewable energies projects constitute an effective weapon in which Moscow faces Western restrictions and sanctions, and will Russia count on its ally China in that?
Energy strategy until 2050
The Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated that his country occupies a unique position in the global economy and in the energy system, noting that the growth of the global economy requires the availability of affordable energy resources.
Novak said that the global energy sector has witnessed a profound shift in recent years, as energy demand has increased by 14%, and primary energy consumption may increase by more than 20% in the next 20 years, and global energy demand will reach 25 billion metric tons by 2050, which is 23% over 2023.
On April 14, 2025, the Russian government published a strategic document on the Russian energy sector until 2050, in which it expected the continued growth of global oil demand to at least 2035, and among the goals of the Russian government – according to the document – the launch of a group of projects to achieve a production level of 100 million tons of blue fuel by 2030.
The term blue fuel is called the hydrogen produced from fossil fuels (such as natural gas) with the detention and storage of carbon dioxide resulting from the production process, which makes it a form of fuel that aims to reduce carbon emissions compared to traditional gray hydrogen.
According to the official website of the “Russian Energy and Industry”, the 5 most prominent projects for renewable energies in Russia are:
- Solar power plants for the Haville Group: It is considered the largest solar power operator in Russia with a capacity of 1.6 GB for the year 2024, and these projects cover areas of the European part and Trance Baikal to the Kisa Republic (Yaqutia).
- Rosatom’s “Novind” wind farmer, which exceeds one Giga -Giga, covers the southern regions of Russia.
- Small hydroelectric power plants from Rosgidro, with a total capacity of about 1.3 GB.
- Wind Energy Projects for Electricity Generation “Forfard Energo”, which is about 1.2 GB operating capacity.
- The Initiative to develop green hydrogen production with the participation of the most prominent Russian energy companies “Rosatum and Gazbrom”, where the Russian government allocated this project in 2024 about 9.3 billion rubles (about 119 million dollars).
A competitive field in the traditional and new sectors
During the past two decades, and in light of its pursuit of investment and development significantly in the energy field, the largest challenge facing Russia was to find strategic alternatives and practical solutions that support its economy and help it overcome the consequences of the Western sanctions imposed on it.
The magazine “Scientific Information” of Russian Economic Sciences published in August 2024 reports explaining the strategies for developing the Russian energy sector to preserve national economic interests in light of Western sanctions, noting that Russia’s attempts to implement comprehensive energy development programs in the eastern Siberia regions, the northwestern region and the Yamal Peninsula.
During the report, researcher Petrov Anton Markovic, professor of economic science, explained that among the goals of the policy of development in the field of renewable energy in Russia, the development of certain sectors that depend on fuel and energy, such as technological industries, oil refining and petrochemicals companies, and the reform of the electric energy industry.
The researcher believes that the implementation of these long -term development projects will create a competitive field for the Russian economy in the traditional and new sectors, so that the innovative low -energy innovative factors are the main source of economic growth.
According to Marcovic, by 2030, the Russian economy’s dependence on the energy sector will decrease due to the rapid development of innovative sectors.
In early June 2021, the project of building the innovative nuclear reactor “Brest” began in the Russian province of Tomsk.
According to experts and scientists, “Brest” will allow the re -use of fuel, which has been actually exhausted in the reactors of nuclear power plants for an countless number of times, which will solve the problem of consumer nuclear fuel accumulation and storing it at an expensive financial cost.
Chinese Russian partnership
The Russian -Chinese partnerships have emerged in the field of renewable energies in recent years as one of the most important strategic columns supporting economic and technological cooperation between the two countries, and the blue hydrogen production plant on the Russian island of Sakhalin is scheduled to start its work in 2029 of the most prominent projects in this regard.
According to experts, Russia’s huge natural fortunes and expertise in the areas of traditional energy, along with the world’s lead in developing solar energy and wind technologies, make cooperation between the two sides complementary.
In his interview with Al -Jazeera Net, the political analyst and expert on Chinese affairs believes that “there must be a Chinese Russian partnership in the field of renewable energies, especially since China is a pioneer in this field, in addition to that both Moscow and Beijing have many renewable energy tools of wind, sun and water, and can be converted to renewable energies.”
Regarding the mutual benefits in this regard, Youssef indicates that China, through this cooperation, will dispense with importing a lot of oil from Arab countries, Iran and Russia as well, and that Russia’s dependence on renewable energies means saving oil that can be sold to other countries.
The spokesman pointed out that the energy is no longer a major problem for the major industrial countries today, so the two countries can overcome the Western restrictions of energy “and perhaps these sanctions are the one who gathered China and Russia more, as we were witnessing a kind of competition, but after the Ukrainian war and Western restrictions they were cooperating as one alliance to face the Western danger that targets them.”
As for the strategic plans adopted by Russia and China in the production of renewable energy, the expert in the Chinese affairs says, “There are joint strategic projects between the two countries and contribute to the development of the country, lighting, industry and the development of many fields.”
“If both China and Russia are able to cooperate well and use the capabilities you enjoy, they will overcome these western sanctions and economic blockade,” he added.
Russian -Arab partnerships with the principle of mutual benefit
Russia also seeks to enhance its partnerships with Arab countries rich in natural resources, by exchanging joint experiences and investments in the areas of traditional energy and renewable energies that support sustainable development efforts and environmental transformation in the region.
The professor of political science, Dr. Ali Al -Hail, spoke to Al -Jazeera Net, about cooperation between the Arab countries and Russia in the fields of renewable energies, considering that he is not a newborn today, but rather returns to approximately 15 years.
Al -Heil pointed out that “both Qatar and Russia are leading the scene in terms of reserves, production and export to the countries of the world, although this cooperation may not appear in the global and regional media, but it is in fact large.”
The spokesman pointed to the desire of Qatar and many Arab and Gulf countries to join as well as the new economic bloc, “BRICS”, stressing that this “will constitute a deterrent to Western domination of the world.”
Al -Heil also explained that “the Arab countries are cooperating with Russia in the areas of clean energy and investment in green hydrogen and hybrid blue, and Qatar produces silicon and exports it to many countries, including Russia and China.”