Russia is one of the world's largest producers of energy, most of which it obtains from oil, natural gas and coal. The country's focus on those resources for production and export, which constitute 80% of foreign trade earnings, means it has paid little attention to renewable energy. Out of the 203 GW of electric generation capacity that Russia has, 44 GW comes from hydroelectricity, 307 MW from geothermal, 15 MW from wind and negligible amounts from other renewable sources.[11][12] In 2009, the Russian energy industry generated a total 992 TWh of electricity, 176 TWh of which was produced by hydroelectric power stations.[13] Some of Russia's hydroelectric power plants are outdated and are in need of additional investment, as shown by the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP in 2009.[1]
President Dmitry Medvedev announced in May 2010 that the Russian government would strongly consider purchasing electricity generated from renewable energy sources in an attempt to encourage development of renewable energy. The government has plans for 4.5% of Russia's energy output to come from non-hydroelectric renewable energy sources.[5] Additionally, in November 2010, the government approved a US$300 billion program to make factories and buildings more energy efficient; it also announced plans to construct eight energy-efficient lamp production plants, promote recycling and support the construction of a hybrid car plant. Medvedev announced in late 2009 that he wanted to cut Russian energy consumption by 40% by 2020.[10][14] At the moment, development is slowed by low investment, economic instability, low public demand and low tariffs on heat and electricity.[15] Subsidies for natural gas are another obstacle to renewable energy development.[16]