On 12 December 2024, at the “Interfax-Ukraine” media center, UWEA’s final press conference took place, based on the results of the development of the Ukrainian wind energy market in 2024. During the press conference, UWEA Board members and representatives of the Ukrainian wind energy business discussed the key trends that shaped the direction of the market’s development this year, including the investment climate, regulatory changes, innovative solutions and approaches.
At the beginning of the press conference, Andriy Konechenkov, Chairman of the UWEA Board, briefly outlined the current state of the wind energy market, noting that “compared to previous years, 2024 can be called a failure, as only 20 MW of new wind energy capacity was commissioned”. “Also, this year the market placed great hopes on the launch of new market support mechanisms, such as, for example, the market premium mechanism and “green” auctions. However, the first does not work properly, and the second was not crowned with success. Now, in a time of full-scale war, is not the best time to conduct experiments on business; on the contrary, business should be seen as a partner”, added Mr Konechenkov.
Complementing the introductory remarks of the UWEA Board Chairman, the invited speakers – representatives of leading wind energy companies – shared their own experience of doing business in 2024:
Ihor Retivov, Head of Regulatory Affairs at DTEK Renewables and a member of the UWEA Committee on Legal Affairs: “We still believe that this year became a preparatory one for future positive changes on the market, because reforms require time. At present, DTEK Renewables does not intend to stop at what has been achieved; we are continuing the construction of the second phase of the Tyligulska wind farm and are developing new wind farm projects in the Poltava and Vinnytsia regions. In total, our portfolio of future projects amounts to over 1 GW. However, we have also opened another direction, namely the construction of energy storage systems. The plans include the construction of 200 MW of such systems.”
Olha Rybachuk, Managing Director of Elementum Energy and a member of the UWEA Board: “We also continue to conduct our activity. At present, in particular, we have 200 MW of new wind energy capacity in development in various parts of the Odesa region, which will be ready for construction next year. However, we still need a number of decisive political decisions to support this energy segment, in particular regarding the unblocking of the Odesa seaports, namely Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk, since, due to difficulties with delivering equipment to the site, the project’s budget grows significantly”.
During her speech, Ms Rybachuk also made an important announcement, informing that on 11 December the company Elementum Energy successfully closed a deal to acquire a 200 MW wind energy project in the western part of Ukraine. The expected annual generation of the new wind farms will amount to about 700 GWh, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of about 600,000 people.
Oleksandr Podpruhin, regional manager of Notus Energy and Deputy Chairman of the UWEA Board: “Our company entered Ukraine’s wind energy market in 2019, already having the idea for several projects. The construction of one of them was planned for 2022, but did not take place because of russia’s invasion. Now, we are working to launch this construction in 2025 after all. This will be a wind station with a capacity of 120 MW in the Odesa region. However, the main investment problem of the Ukrainian market is scaling, because all the projects that are being built or developed today are an exception. Business, in fact, feels a critical lack of full-fledged mechanisms for financing wind energy projects on the scale that the power system requires”.
Vladyslav Yeremenko, CEO of the MC “Wind Parks of Ukraine”: “The relocation of our production from the east to the west became an important step for its further sustainable operation. Although our company also faces the same problems as other market participants, we try to find unconventional solutions. So, for example, we created our own logistics company, LLC “Friendly Logistic”, and are developing an entire industrial park in Zakarpattia. Also, in this same region, we are building the first wind power plant: two wind turbines have already been commissioned, and a substation is being completed. We plan to fully finish the construction in May 2025. In total, our portfolio of future projects amounts to 1.5 GW”. During the press conference, Mr Yeremenko also shared the company’s unique experience of cooperation with the local communities of Zakarpattia, measures to preserve the valuable ecosystems of the Carpathians and the development of a network of social housing for IDPs.
The second part of the press conference concerned the discussion of the current regulatory challenges and barriers that are a significant obstacle for international and national investors. The discussion touched on “green” auctions, trading on the free market, and the market premium mechanism. In particular, regarding the latter, Olha Rybachuk, a representative of the company that bet on this mechanism, noted that “for 10 months now, across all the Elementum companies that are within this mechanism, not a single payment has been received. In addition, the companies that chose this mechanism for themselves are significantly discriminated against, because they receive 3–4 times more curtailment commands than those companies that are still in the “green” tariff system”.
Oleksandr Podpruhin, in turn, once again returning to the problem of attracting financing into new wind energy projects, emphasised that an effective solution to this could be the mechanism of corporate PPAs, the stability of which would be ensured by a special Fund for guaranteeing the minimum electricity price on the market.
The UWEA representatives ended their discussion with reflections on the creation at the state level of a separate institution that would deal with the issues of the development of “green” energy in Ukraine. “Such a body could really switch the focus of business from solving some regulatory problems to implementing projects and innovations”, emphasised Vladyslav Yeremenko.
UWEA extends its gratitude to the speakers of the press conference for the frank conversation, to all the participants of the wind energy market for their resilience and the continuation of their activity despite all the difficulties and challenges, and to the representatives of the national media for their support in covering the pressing issues of the sector and popularising all its achievements.
