Russia issued government tenders on Monday for contracts to build 1.9 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by utilizing foreign direct investment to create thousands of jobs for the country’s citizens, who are facing a multi-year recession. “Russia has had a long history of leadership in the energy sector and now has the opportunity to extend that leadership into renewable energy,” Adnan Amin, of the International Renewable Energy Agency, told Bloomberg. Developing green energy “can significantly contribute to the country’s economic objectives such as economic growth and employment,” he added. Strict local-content rules passed in 2012 and 2014 for parts used in renewable energy initiatives have stifled the sector’s growth in recent years. The proportion of Russian-made parts necessary for any wind turbine or solar panel plant to function in the country stands at 40 percent in 2017. In the coming years, that percentage will become more stringent. The new […]