Innovative Energy Policy Decisions of the Countries of the Post-Soviet Space at the Modern Stage (Typology of the CIS and Baltic Countries by the Level of Development of Alternative Energy)

The experience of the EU and other countries of the world is useful for post-Soviet states, but the features of the current state and prospects for the development of energy in these countries, including the level of energy supply, as well as the experience of the former USSR in the field of renewable energy development, must be taken into account. The paper analyzes the stages of development of alternative energy in the analyzed states in the Soviet period. It is important to recall that there was a single energy system, as a system of interconnected elements of a single energy economy of 15 union republics on the territory of the former USSR. The study clearly shows that because of the collapse of the Soviet Union during the transition from a planned economy to a market economy, all post-Soviet republics faced a full-blown economic crisis. Most alternative energy development projects had been frozen or discontinued. The purpose of the article is to compare the development directions of energy policy in the CIS countries and the Baltic states, and to understand what exactly these states managed to achieve in the field of alternative energy development. In other words, the study resulted in the author’s typology of the countries of the post-Soviet space according to the degree of use of innovative technologies in the energy sector (alternative energy sources). The study was based on energy statistics (IRENA, REN21, BP, IEA), as well as materials from official websites of state authorities of the CIS and Baltic countries. Two essentially opposite types of countries are clearly distinguished: (1) some countries with high self-sufficiency in energy carriers and experimental (but poorly developed) alternative energy sources; and (2) others having maximum indicators of electricity production via alternative energy sources. All other countries have been attributed to the transition type. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.