Assessing the Efficiency of Cogeneration Power Plants in the Arctic and Northern Regions of Russia

In a significant part of the territory of Russia, due to harsh climatic conditions and low population density, there is either no centralized energy supply at all, or the electricity supply is characterized by low reliability and quality because of the large length of power lines. This is especially typical for the Arctic and northern regions of Russia. Economically justified energy tariffs in such territories are many times higher than the statistical average. The purpose of this study is to assess the efficiency of transferring heating boiler houses in the Arctic and northern regions of Russia to the cogeneration mode. The article presents and analyses the prices for the main energy sources in the northern and Arctic regions of Russia. It is shown that the key factor in the efficiency of energy sources in such territories is the cost of fuel. Possible measures to reduce the fuel component in the cost of energy are: 1) replacement of expensive imported fuel with local fuel and 2) transfer of energy sources to the mode of combined heat and power generation. Using the example of the village of Erbogachen (Katangskiy district, Irkutsk Oblast), technical and economic assessment of the effectiveness of these measures was carried out. It was established that the transfer of the boiler house to the cogeneration mode leads to a reduction of the economically justified tariff for electric power almost twofold while keeping the tariff for heat power at the same level. The results of the study can be used to adjust and formulate investment programs at the state and municipal levels, as well as in the energy development strategies in the northern regions of Russia.