Ukraine has announced plans to launch renewable energy auctions to increase its power generation capacity
It will start with a 110 MW auction on pilot basis, with wind energy alone comprising 88 MW
Post this, the country will launch green auctions in 2025 to offer state support
The Government of Ukraine is planning to host a pilot auction for 110 MW renewable energy capacity in 2024 as it tests the ground for green auctions to be launched in full force in 2025, said Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
The pilot auction for renewable energy producers to win state support will be held within October-November 2024 under the decree adopted by the government.
Wind farms have been allocated the largest chunk with 88 MW out of 110 MW while solar power plants (SPP) get 11 MW, with remaining 11 MW distributed between biomass, biogas, and small hydropower plants.
For SPPs and wind farms, the ceiling tariff is €0.09 ($0.099)/kWh, and for remaining technologies it is €0.12 ($0.13)/kWh. The auctions will be held online on the Prozorro.Sale website, Ukraine’s digital auction system for public assets management. Winners will be selected basis lowest price offered.
The initial power generation facilities awarded under the auction are targeted to be grid connected in 2025.
“Given the enormous scale of damage to our generating capacities by the Russians - 9 GW of manoeuvring capacity - the development of distributed generation is one of the most important priorities. And renewable energy facilities can play a significant role in increasing the volume of generation in our power system,” said Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko.
The renewable energy auctions will provide long-term guaranteed support to the investors that will also create jobs while establishing new generating capacities to support Ukrainian businesses, according to the country’s 1st Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Yuliia Svyrydenko.
Launch of the pilot auction follows the government approving the country’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan for up to 2030. This is aimed at accelerating the implementation of renewable energy projects. Prime Minister Shmyhal believes this will reduce the overall capacity deficit in the power grid.
An October 2022 report of Ember claimed that the European Union (EU) was able to save €11 billion in avoided gas costs thanks to wind and solar power generation during Russian aggression against Ukraine (see Wind & Solar Helped EU Save €11 Billion During Ukraine War).
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Ukraine’s total installed renewable energy capacity at the end of 2023 was over 14.6 GW of which more than 8 GW was solar PV.
GOLAW, a Ukrainian law firm, referred to official data on Lexology to share that the country commissioned more than 650 MW of new renewable energy capacity in 2022-2023, including 371 MW of SPPs, 227 MW wind power plants, 50 MW bioenergy facilities, and 1 MW small hydroelectric power plants.
The target for installed capacity by 2030 includes 12.2 GW SPP, 6.2 GW wind, 876 MW of biomass and biogas, 906 MW of highly maneuverable capacities with the ability to quickly start/stop, and 656 MW of energy storage capacity.
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