The Ministry of Energy, chaired by Minister of Energy of Ukraine Svitlana Grynchuk, held a working meeting to discuss key challenges in the development of renewable energy. Representatives of the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association, the European-Ukrainian Energy Agency, the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine, and the Solar Energy Association of Ukraine attended the meeting.
Svitlana Grynchuk emphasized that the development of renewable energy sources remains a priority for the Ministry. She informed participants of the Ministry’s support for several legislative initiatives that will positively impact addressing sectoral challenges. These include draft laws aimed at strengthening competitive conditions for electricity generation from renewable sources and on market coupling.
Participants discussed potential solutions to the issue of debt settlements among market players. First Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine Artem Nekrasov noted that this matter was recently reviewed at a Ministry meeting with Ukraine’s largest energy companies, attended by representatives of the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) and the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development. The participants agreed to begin work on designing operational models and mechanisms that would allow for partial settlement of debts owed to renewable energy producers and prevent the accumulation of new debts in the market.
The First Deputy Minister invited the association representatives to join this process to develop models and a roadmap within a few weeks. Following this, international financial institutions are expected to be engaged to secure the resources required to address these issues in the balancing market.
During the discussion, representatives of the renewable energy associations raised a number of pressing issues. In particular, they requested support for maintaining VAT exemptions on the import of certain categories of energy equipment for the construction of new generating capacities and energy storage facilities.
The issue of insuring war-related risks was also raised. The Ministry of Energy informed that this matter is being actively discussed in meetings with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), and that mechanisms for insurance are being developed with the involvement of the Ukraine Energy Support Fund.
Participants also discussed the operation of biomethane producers and possible measures to stimulate its export. One such measure is facilitating the cancellation of customs duties on exports of renewable gases to countries outside the EU and the Energy Community. In particular, this includes Switzerland and the United Kingdom, which could become major buyers of Ukrainian biomethane.
