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News, January 2012

26th Webinar of FSD Regional Centers

The twenty sixth seminar of FSD Regional Centers held on January 13, 2012 in the form of a webinar was devoted to a discussion of the beginning of work on the first round of the Community Development Support Program Based on Information and Communication Technologies (CDSP-ICT) and its prospects, as well as of the priorities of the second round whose contest of concept papers was opened on December 26, 2011.

O.Fokin, FSD executive director, and R.Butovsky, FDS program director, described the CDSP-ICT planned activities, priority areas, the specifics of the second round and the role of RC in Program implementation.

RC directors (S.Pleshakov, V.Belogolovov, K.Strukova and E.Volkova) spoke about activities of the initial stages of CDSP-ICT first round projects. Most of these have begun with feasibility studies and were coordinated with local Electric Inspection Services. In his presentation, V. Belogolovov focused on the importance of social contracts as an energy savings reinvestment mechanism supporting social project contests.

The discussion of second round priorities was joined by RC directors and representatives of local energy agencies and centers: Andrei Bondar, director of Russia Energy Agency Khabarovsk Krai Branch; Bayar Tumurov, director of Buryatia Republic Energy-Efficiency Agency; Anatoly Kuligin, deputy director for international projects of the Ural Center for Energy-Efficiency and Ecology LLC; Sergei Bugrov, director of Russia Energy Agency Nizhny Novgorod Branch; and Leonid Linkhoyev, inspector of Barguzinsky Raion Electric Inspection Service, Republic of Buryatia.

The participants discussed the possibility of including projects based on latest energy-efficiency technologies in the second CDSP-ICT round and stressed that despite the fact that such technologies are being gradually introduced in Russia, there still remain many technical, investment and organizational issues that need to be addressed on a federal level before they become wide-spread on a community level. The Russian Federation Ministry of Energy is supportive of the policy of decentralizing energy production (generation) in order to bring it closer to consumers. A number of pilot cogeneration projects have already appeared in the country. However, their majority is taking place in the private sector because the utilization of these technologies in organizations funded from the state budget is being hampered by a host of constraints (lack of infrastructure and financial and technical problems). Besides, such projects are too costly for municipalities.

The participants also received information about the Rules for Providing Federal Subsidies to Regions  for Energy-Efficiency Programs approved by RF Government on September 5, 2011, with which local municipalities have to be familiarized (after the webinar the Rules were sent out to FSD RCs for informing grant applicants).

A part of the discussion was devoted to the probability of announcing projects involving the  performance of feasibility studies and the preparation of pre-project and pre-investment documentation with subsequent contests of developed projects; the priorities of the second round; the possibility of introducing innovative technologies, including cogeneration, on a municipal level; and an understanding of the role of information and communication technologies in the successful fulfillment of energy-efficiency projects.

The resolutions of the webinar sent out to all the participants  and to FSD RCs  by Elena Milanova, FSD projects manager, emphasize the significance of ICT in the new Program and, in particular, of webinars as a cost-effective form of conducting meetings and consultations with regional centers.

FSD computer specialist Boris Chigirev provided internet support to the webinar.

The materials of the webinar were published in the electronic journal Local Sustainable Development.