GlobalData says Russia added an estimated 100 MW of solar power last year, bringing its total installed solar power to about 3.1 GW. The consultancy forecasts an annual addition of about 200 MW over the next decade, bringing the country’s cumulative solar capacity to 5.3 GW by 2035.
Russia according to analysis published by. approximately 100 MW of solar energy installed by 2025 Global data. The British consultancy estimates that the country’s cumulative solar capacity will increase from 3 GW in 2024 to 3.1 GW in 2025.
GlobalData expects to add approximately 200 MW of solar power annually through 2035, helping Russia reach 3.3 GW of solar power by the end of this year, reach 4 GW of solar power in 2029, surpass 5 GW before the end of 2034, and reach 5.3 GW by the end of 2035.
Mohammed Ziauddin, Power Analyst at GlobalData, says the increase in solar capacity will be mainly driven by utility-scale installations in the southern and eastern regions of the country, in areas with higher solar radiation levels.
He explained that renewable energy sources are being implemented under the Russian Capacity Supply Agreement, which provides selected solar and wind energy projects with fixed capacity payments for up to 15 years within the wholesale electricity and capacity market.
Ziauddin told pv magazine that Russia has also implemented policies to promote small-scale, distributed solar energy, allowing households and businesses to install solar power systems up to 15 kW and sell excess electricity under a net metering framework of approximately RUB 1.70 ($0.021)/kWh to RUB 2.00/kWh.
He added that solar energy is increasingly being deployed in solar-diesel hybrid systems in remote areas of the country where off-grid solar energy is most suitable.
“In remote and off-grid regions where solar plus storage systems are replacing diesel generation, the levelized electricity cost of recently commissioned off-grid solar plus storage projects ranges from approximately $0.19 to $0.29 per kWh, which is significantly more economically viable compared to net diesel generation costs,” Ziauddin explains. “Hybrid energy complexes in regions such as Yakutia have shown significant cost savings. Twelve complexes commissioned between 2021 and 2024 collectively saved more than 3,596 tons of diesel fuel.”
Another important driver of the Russian solar market is the government’s emphasis on industrial localization and technological sovereignty, Ziadduin added. He explained that renewable energy auctions require projects to contain between 50% and 70% locally manufactured components, a requirement he said is expected to increase over time.
The policy has supported the growth of a domestic solar energy production sector in Russia. Ziadduin singled out Moscow-based Hevel Group as one of the market leaders, which operates one of Russia’s largest solar cell production facilities and has commissioned more than 100 projects with a total capacity of more than 1.6 GW.
“The company specializes in heterojunction (HJT) technology and has significantly improved its cell efficiency since first introducing HJT production in 2017. By 2023, the commercial industry average for HJT cells had reached 25.0%, a benchmark that Hevel’s ongoing research and development program is designed to match and exceed,” Ziadduin shared. pv magazine. “Other manufacturers are also developing thin-film CIGS modules, flexible solar panels and building integrated solar photovoltaics for urban applications.”
Additional analysis from GlobalData expects total Russian renewable energy capacity to increase from 9.8 GW in 2025 to 18.4 GW in 2035, representing a compound annual growth rate of approximately 6.5% over the study period.
Image: GlobalData
Onshore wind energy is expected to strengthen its position as Russia’s leading form of renewable energy, from 4.3 GW last year to 10.2 GW in 2035, with solar energy being the second largest renewable source.
Russia’s energy mix is dominated by thermal generation, especially natural gas. GlobalData expects gas-fired capacity to increase from 143.5 GW in 2025 to 151.2 GW in 2035. Coal capacity is expected to gradually decline over the forecast period, while oil-fired capacity is expected to remain relatively unchanged.
Earlier this month, a 102.3 MW solar project was commissioned in Dagestan, southern Russia.
Built by Russian developer New Energy Management Company LLC, the project is the largest solar project in the region. According to a Telegram message published by the Ministry of Energy of Dagestan, the country has started supplying electricity to the southern Russian power grid and has a planned production equivalent to about 3% of the total electricity volume generated by all power plants of Dagestan.
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