The USAID Energy Security Project (ESP) started the work on the “Green Paper on Renewable Energy Policy.” This activity will help Ukraine to draft strategic national policies and to make them a foundation of the future sustainable growth of the renewables sector.
Representatives of the President’s Office of Ukraine, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC), NPC Ukrenergo, JSC Market Operator, USAID, international banks and financial institutions, renewables associations, and other stakeholders took part in presenting and discussing the work plan.
Both nationally and locally, this USAID ESP activity is focused on scaling up the deployment of renewable energy, making the Ukrainian renewables sector more attractive for international and private investments, and ensuring energy resilience and strengthening of energy security in the long-term. In addition to increasing the country’s renewable energy generation capacity, these national policies are also intended to decarbonize the Ukrainian energy system and the economy as a whole.
Opening the kick-off meeting, Mr. Jeremy Foster, Senior Energy Advisor with USAID, stated “Developing a National Green Paper on Renewable Energy Policy will guide Ukraine to meet its greenhouse gas and carbon neutrality commitments under the Paris Accords and other international agreements. This new activity is also part of USAID’s commitment to help Ukraine bring its systems and practices into full alignment with European standards. By creating the conditions for renewable energy development in Ukraine, USAID is helping to build an energy system that is more resilient to Russia’s attacks. A stable and scalable system that will position Ukraine as a leader in green energy.”
Ukraine’s power system is under immense stress. Russia’s invasion has had a devastating impact on the energy sector, particularly the renewable energy facilities.
According to the Deputy Minister (DM) of Energy of Ukraine, Roman Andarak, a strong renewable energy sector will bring multiple benefits to the energy system. These include decentralization, stability, scalability, fuel independence, and the ability to involve many stakeholders (producers, local communities, energy cooperatives, industrial, and residential consumers, etc.).
Mr. Ruslan Kaidash, NEURC Commissioner, emphasized that Ukraine “fully realizes that renewable energy is becoming increasingly important for strengthening of the country’s energy security. Renewable energy technologies are one of the cheapest and fastest to be deployed if a competitive and transparent regulatory environment is created.”
According to Andrii Gerus, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy, Housing, and Utilities has mentioned that the government is approving a number of decisions to incentivize and develop green technologies.
In parallel, Ukraine is liberalizing the wholesale market, which is important as green generation mostly sells its energy in the wholesale market.
The goal of the Green Paper is to develop a set of policy options (technical, market, legal) in renewables, which will be in line with European best practices and promote the full integration of Ukraine with European energy markets.
These policies will consider the current needs and challenges of Ukraine’s economy, and they suggest recommendations for improving and removing regulatory gaps as well as promoting RES development in Ukraine.
The Green Paper on Renewable Energy Policy will enhance the utilization of alternative energy sources and ensure long-term energy sector resilience.
