Russia to Encourage Renewable Energy With Capacity-Based Support Mechanism

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—The Russian government has approved a new capacity-based support mechanism for renewable energy, which advocates of wind and solar energy have awaited for several years.

But critics said a requirement for the equipment to be domestically produced could create problems for wind energy development.

The scheme is Russia’s first major attempt to encourage a domestic renewable energy market, which would take advantage of the country’s large wind, solar, and small hydro resources.

“At the moment, the use of renewable energy sources and green energy is far from what we would like it to be,” Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ...