On 10 October 2024, at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine, the official presentation of the Report “Legislative changes to stimulate the development of the wind energy sector in Ukraine” took place, which was developed by the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association (UWEA) within a special project aimed at analysing the gaps in the current legislation and proposing comprehensive changes to ensure the effective development of wind energy in Ukraine. The legislative changes proposed for adoption cover the environmental, construction, land, technical and other aspects of the development of a wind energy project in Ukraine.
The project was implemented with the financial support of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency of the Ministry of Economy and Climate Policy of the Netherlands (RVO) with the participation of leading law firms in the field of energy law, namely LCF, Asters, INTEGRITES, Dentons, ARZINGER, as well as the company DTEK Renewables. All of these companies are members of UWEA.
Andriy Konechenkov, Chairman of the UWEA Board and the event’s moderator: “In close communication and interaction with real market participants, and with the support of our Dutch partners, we developed this Report, expecting that the introduction of the proposed changes to the industry’s regulatory framework will contribute to simplifying and accelerating the development of wind energy projects in Ukraine, to forming a transparent, competitive and, most importantly, predictable environment on the market, to achieving the renewable energy development goals set in the National Action Plan for Renewable Energy up to 2030, and, ultimately, to protecting and attracting private investment into Ukraine”.
Bram Romeijn, Attaché for Energy and Climate at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine: “In the Netherlands there is a special attitude to wind energy. It is very important for our citizens. We believe that, under the current conditions of martial law, wind energy for Ukraine is a real solution; it is the diversification and decentralisation of its energy system. We see that the Ukrainian government also holds this position, so we are glad to make our contribution to the development of this sector. Improving the relevant legislative framework is what is critically important for investors right now”.
A welcoming address was delivered by Serhii Vlasenko, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine: “The presented Report is truly a very thorough study. We at the Ministry are currently analysing the part dedicated to legislative changes in EIA and SEA. The Ministry of Environmental Protection wholeheartedly supports the development of wind energy, because it is a “green” solution and generation that makes it possible to carry out the energy transition away from fossil fuels. For our part, we will be involved in implementing the recommendations proposed in the Report”.
In his speech, Yurii Shafarenko, Deputy Head of the Main Department of the Directorate for Economic Policy of the Office of the President of Ukraine, noted: “We at the Office of the President of Ukraine have also worked through the prepared Report and conceptually support the implementation of the legislative changes proposed in it. Today wind energy plays a key role for Ukraine, especially in the autumn-winter period, and therefore it is necessary to create the maximum possible incentives for the even greater development of this sector in Ukraine”.
“I want to thank the relevant Ministries for their support and readiness to continue working through our recommendations. Yesterday we also presented this Report to the First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko and to Andriy Herus, the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Housing and Communal Services. I am convinced that this Report, with a volume of 122 pages, can well become the basis thanks to which the investment climate of Ukraine’s wind energy sector will be significantly improved”, summed up the introductory part of the event Andriy Konechenkov.
As part of the second part of the event, the authors of the Report shared the key conclusions and recommendations developed based on the results of the analysis carried out.
The first to speak was Olena Sichkovska-Chornobyl, energy lawyer at UWEA and the German company Notus Energy, who also took on the role of project manager. In her speech, Ms Olena outlined the goal, objectives and results of the project and drew the guests’ attention to the issues covered by the Report, its structure and research methodology.
Anzhelika Livitska, partner at ARZINGER, comprehensively presented the proposals for legislative changes in the field of EIA and SEA.
Serhii Datsiv, senior lawyer at INTEGRITES, in turn, outlined the recommendations regarding the possibility of changing the designated purpose for land without conducting an EIA and regarding the agreement of the amount of damages subject to compensation.
Viktoriia Demydenko, counsel at Asters, presented the proposals regarding the siting, construction and maintenance of access roads, as well as obtaining the so-called aviation approval. Continuing Ms Viktoriia’s speech, the second representative of Asters at the event – Marta Halabala, counsel, covered with her speech the part of the Report dedicated to the allocation of cross-border interconnections for renewables and the export of electricity.
One of the most extensive parts of the Report, dedicated to extending the validity period of permit documents, in particular technical conditions for connection to the electricity grids, and the possibility of capacity reservation, was presented by Ivan Bondarchuk, partner at LCF. Additionally, his experience on this issue was also shared by Serhii Chaus, manager of the engineering department of DTEK Renewables, who also emphasised the need to change the outdated methodology for calculating power system operating modes.
Finally, Maksym Sysoiev, partner at Dentons, spoke in more detail about what the authors of the Report propose regarding the operation of energy storage facilities and the introduction of cable pooling technology, that is, the possibility of using one connection point to the electricity grid for installations of different types of renewables.
UWEA extends its gratitude to everyone involved in the development of this Report for their sincere aspiration to improve the Ukrainian wind energy market and make it more attractive for international investors and financial organisations.
