Head of Global 100% RE Ukraine held a webinar for local communities: what was discussed

On Friday, January 24, Oleksandr Dombrovskyі, Chairman of the Board of Global 100% RE Ukraine and President of MHP Eco Energy, together with the Association of Small Cities of Ukraine, held a webinar on the digital platform Supermarket of Solutions for Communities.

The meeting focused on how territorial communities can ensure their energy independence and what opportunities modern green energy provides for this.

In his opening remarks, Oleksandr Dobrovskyі mentioned Donald Trump’s recent decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement and noted that it would certainly lead to certain complications in the dynamics of the development of green technologies. But, according to the head of Global 100% RE Ukraine, both Ukraine and the world have already gone through such stages, and there is no alternative to green energy.

A summary of what was said at the webinar:

• The planet Earth receives as much solar energy in one day as the entire global economy does not consume in a whole year.
• The best and cleanest energy is the one we don’t use.
• The energy system in each territorial community can be based on its own energy resources, in whole or in part.
• Solar, water, wind, and biomass energy are resources that every city, region, and community has access to.
• Local authorities should work closely with local businesses that have their own financial resources, are motivated to become energy independent, reduce energy costs, and implement projects very quickly, including energy security.
• Initially, certain projects can be launched by businesses, and then implemented by utilities and community territories.
• Solar, wind, biogas, cogeneration, energy storage systems, smart grid, and ESCO contracts are the projects that territorial communities should pay attention to.
• The most affordable and easiest green technology to implement today is the use of solar energy. The cost can be about UAH 1 per kWh. Investments pay off in 3-5 years.
• Another problem that communities should pay attention to, in addition to energy security, is the preservation of soil quality. Over the past 50-60 years, global warming, erosion, and human activity have lost the lion’s share of humus, which Ukrainian black soil is famous for. Fertility needs to be restored with the help of organic matter.

In general, according to Oleksandr Dombrovskyі, Ukraine has a great potential in developing risk-resistant generation.

“The distributed and green energy projects that are already operating in Ukraine give grounds to say that our country can be energy independent and have a very high level of energy security. And this security should be built primarily on distributed generation of our own production,” Dombrovskyі emphasized.