“Green” energy is not a whim, but a serious tool”: what was discussed at the Global 100% RE Ukraine press conference

On Thursday, January 9, the Interfax-Ukraine agency hosted Global 100% RE Ukraine’s final press conference on “Sun, wind, biogas: how green energy will help Ukraine survive in 2025”.

According to Oleksandr Dombrovskyi, President of MHP Eco Energy and Chairman of the Board of Global 100% RE Ukraine, the philosophy of a tightly centralized energy system, which was created back in the Soviet Union, needs to be changed dramatically today. We need to move to a distributed generation philosophy based on the sun, wind, bioenergy and energy storage systems.

“Everyone in Ukraine, both in the government and outside the government, has already realized and felt that green energy is not a whim, but a very serious energy tool, in particular for reasons of energy security. And the development of solar, wind, and bioenergy technologies, the projects that were implemented in 2023 and 2024 protected Ukraine from blackouts,” Dombrowskyi said.

He added that, just as the war is won by the one with the most modern, innovative weapons, the one with the best energy technologies will win the energy confrontation.

Among the key trends of 2024 that will continue in 2025, the Head of Global 100% RE Ukraine highlighted the fact that Ukrainian business, cities, and territorial communities have begun to create their own generation at a rapid pace. At the same time, Ukrainian entrepreneurs are determined to develop their own industrial base and rely on internal resources.

But there are a number of problems. These include the issue of debts to renewable energy producers, regulatory nuances, etc. A big obstacle is the shortage of staff and the need to retain them.

“The system will work effectively only if we can retain professional energy personnel who are currently restoring the energy system, designing and building new energy facilities, both in winter and summer,” Dombrovskyi said.

You can watch the press conference here.

Vladyslav Sokolovskyi, Chairman of the Solar Energy Association of Ukraine, reminded that 2024 was a very difficult year for the Ukrainian energy sector. Despite this, solar energy is moving forward and has added capacity over the past year.

“According to our estimates, approximately 800 to 850 MW of installed capacity was installed. This is primarily installed by businesses for self-consumption and solving energy security problems. This is also installed by small owners of home solar stations, households. Accordingly, there is some growth. Of course, this is not the same growth as in 2019, when industrial solar power plants were being built, but we still see a positive movement,” Sokolovskyi said.

Starting in 2025, the SEAU expects further growth in new solar power plants and energy storage systems installed by businesses, which will also be primarily for their own needs.

The construction of solar power plants at critical and social infrastructure facilities will also increase. The penetration of solar energy in the agricultural sector is expected to increase. This will be facilitated by relatively low prices for solar panels, the introduction of a risk insurance mechanism, which is currently being discussed, and preferential lending and grant programs.

“I think that next year the sun, wind, and bioenergy will go together. We will continue to move forward and provide the country with more energy security and work opportunities,” Sokolovskyi summarized.

Georgii Geletukha, Chairman of the Board of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine, said that 2024 was quite successful for one sector of bioenergy – biomethane production.

“In May, the Law of Ukraine on Amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine on Customs Clearance of Biomethane came into force, which allowed the export of biomethane under a temporary ban on the export of natural gas. In September, the first biomethane plant of the Vitagro group of companies started operating in Ukraine. In November, the second biomethane plant of Gals Agro was launched. As of today, these two plants are pumping biomethane into the underground gas storage facilities of Ukraine and have already accumulated more than 1 million cubic meters of biomethane there. That is, in 2024, Ukraine produced the first million cubic meters of biomethane!” said Geletukha.

According to him, at least five more biomethane plants are expected to start production in 2025. In addition, the goal is to increase biomethane production capacity to more than 100 million cubic meters per year.

He also emphasized the need to develop distributed generation, in particular gas generation. After Russian gas transit was stopped, Ukraine was left with essentially two sources of gas: Poltava and Kharkiv regions. And from these two points, we need to supply gas to the whole of Ukraine, which is not easy logistically. Therefore, the development of small biomethane plants located throughout Ukraine will significantly improve the logistics of natural gas.

Overstated requirements for the calorific value of biomethane for supply to the grid remain a major obstacle to the development of the sector. They were formed back in the days of the Soviet Union and reflect the calorific value of high-calorie Russian gas.

According to Andriy Konechenkov, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association, last year was a difficult and not very successful year for wind energy.

“It can be called both a ‘failure’ and a ‘preparatory’ year for the accelerated development of the wind energy sector in Ukraine. Last year, just over 20 MW of capacity was commissioned. At the same time, about 4 GW of wind energy projects are ready for implementation by 2030 in accordance with the National Renewable Energy Plan adopted in 2024,” Konechenkov said.

According to him, the protracted crisis in Ukraine’s wind energy market, which has been going on for the past 5 years, is quite complex. It is related to both the inefficiency of market support mechanisms and regulatory imperfections. First, the electricity market is still facing the problem of debt. Secondly, a related problem is the difficulty of attracting project financing. In addition, among the failures of the year, the UWEA Head mentioned the long-awaited but failed “green” auctions.

“For five years we have been waiting, and this year the first auctions took place. And they turned out to be unsuccessful for wind energy. Not a single project was approved. Moreover, the 88 MW quota for wind energy is too small. If we go back to the approved national plan for the development of renewable energy sources, it provides for 4 GW over five years, so auctions should provide quotas of 800 MW. Then we can say that the national plan will be fulfilled,” said Konechenkov.

He also mentioned the problem of booking workers involved in the design and construction of energy, including “green” facilities. He also raised the issue of creating a separate state body that would be an advocate for green energy.