Global 100% RE Ukraine Participates in the ANEW-LIFE General Assembly

22–23 September the ANEW-LIFE General Assembly took place in Budapest, with Oleksii Korchmit, Director of Global 100% RE Ukraine, joining the event. In his remarks, he spoke about the experiences of the EU and Ukraine, as well as the future prospects for scaling up the ESCO market, emphasizing the importance of this mechanism for advancing energy efficiency and financial resilience in municipalities.

First-Year Results and New Goals

The Budapest meeting was a landmark event: it marked the conclusion of the first year of project activities, where partners gathered to exchange results, analyze challenges, and set priorities for the second year. The project coordinator, EnGreen, highlighted that the main goal of ANEW-LIFE is to support Ukrainian cities in their energy transition, especially under the conditions of war.

Challenges and Experience of Lighthouse Cities

The energy profiles of Zhytomyr, Kalush, and Nizhyn were presented:

• Kalush focused on war-related challenges—damaged infrastructure, the shutdown of its CHP plant, and the urgent need to retrofit multi-storey apartment blocks from the 1960s–70s. At the same time, the city is gradually transitioning to natural gas and individual heating systems.

• Nizhyn highlighted its strong dependence on natural gas and stressed the need to expand renewable energy sources in the future.

• Zhytomyr shared its experience in energy reforms and outlined next steps to further reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

These communities are becoming laboratories for testing new financing models, technical solutions, and approaches that can later be scaled up to other cities in Ukraine and across the EU.

European Experience: One-Stop-Shops and Financing

A key topic of the assembly was the introduction of One-Stop-Shops — structures that help municipalities develop energy projects by providing technical, financial, and legal support. Two examples were discussed:

• Multihome – focused on community-led initiatives.

• Regia – supporting projects in the public sector.

These instruments could form the basis for municipal “one-stop shops” in Ukraine, enabling cities to attract investments and improve the quality of project preparation.

Special emphasis was placed on financial aspects: timely reporting and well-prepared financial models are essential to secure funding from the European Commission.

New Tools and Strategies

The project’s second year will focus on:

• modeling energy systems of Ukrainian cities and identifying the most effective transition scenarios;

• creating investment roadmaps for municipalities;

• developing replicability strategies to roll out solutions in other cities across Ukraine and the EU;

• strengthening communication and public engagement in the energy transition.

Strategic Importance for Ukraine

For Ukraine, ANEW-LIFE is more than just a technical project. It represents a pathway to:

• creating sustainable business models for municipalities;

• expanding the ESCO market and green financing;

• integrating into the European energy system;

• enhancing energy independence and supporting recovery after the war.

Global 100% RE Ukraine plays a key role as a national partner, helping build cooperation between Ukrainian municipalities and international organizations, shaping expert positions, and promoting the ideas of green transformation at the global level.