Carbon Footprint of Electricity Produced in the Russian Federation

Energy is the most carbon-intensive industry in Russia. At the same time, the carbon footprint of electricity generation or produced electricity significantly affects the total carbon footprint of a wide variety of materials and products, which is especially relevant for products of energy-intensive industries (aluminum, platinum, carbon fiber reinforced plastics, etc.) and hydrogen energy. According to various sources, the average carbon footprint of electricity generated and consumed in Russia ranges from 310 to 634 g CO2-eq./kWh. In addition, it is necessary to take into account significant differences in the generation structure of individual energy systems and regions of Russia, which causes huge variance in the values of the carbon footprint of electricity. Thus, the main type of fuel used at energy facilities in Russia is natural gas, the share of which is 71% of all fossil fuel consumption by generation facilities. There are also differences in the generation structure between regions within one integrated energy system (IES). The paper analyzes methodological approaches to determining grid emission factors for Russian electricity. It has been established that different principles of territorial division of the Russian energy system can be used to determine grid emission factors (national average grid emission factor, grid emission factors for the unified energy system, grid emission factors for price and non-price zones of the wholesale electricity market).