On April 17, 2024, UWEA held another webinar devoted to the integration of renewable generation, specifically wind power, into the integrated power system of Ukraine. The event showcased the expertise and experience of such UWEA member companies as DMCC-Engineering and INTEGRITES as well as attracted more than 100 participants, including representatives of national authorities and the scientific community. The moderator of the discussion was Andriy Konechenkov, Chairman of the UWEA Board
Thus, the joint speech by representatives of INTEGRITES law firm, namely Oleksiy Feliv, Managing Partner and Head of Energy Practice, and Serhii Datsiv, Senior Associate of Energy Practice, was devoted not only to the current peculiarities of the grid connection procedure but also to the steps to be taken for its improving and simplifying. In particular, the speakers presented the pre-connection development stages that needed to be passed by each RES producer; the existing regulation of grid connection procedure; the current fees for connection; the validity of technical conditions; the non-standard connection cases, etc.
“Although immediately after the introduction of martial law in Ukraine, the state adopted the procedure of temporary grid connection during martial law and allowed RES producers who had started developing their projects before the full-scale invasion to obtain technical conditions for connection, we now know the negative consequences of this incentive, such as the issuance of technical conditions without having conducted a feasibility study, which can be considered an abuse and needs to be further investigated within the association,” Oleksiy Feliv informed and also proposed to consider updating the procedure for changing the land designation for renewable energy facilities.
Andrii Zakharov, a senior engineer and RES expert at DMCC-Engineering, in turn, focused on technical aspects, namely power system studies for RES integration. In his presentation, Mr. Zakharov described the main types of electrical modes studies under the scope of calculation work, the stages of such studies and all other measures to be taken to prove the facility’s compliance with the Transmission System Code. “I would like to highlight that the valid Transmission System Code of Ukraine is not just a list of certain TSO’s requirements, but the rules and regulations of European colleagues formed and tested while maintaining a significant share of “green” generation. So, this is very relevant and important for Ukraine, which has declared quite ambitious goals on increasing the share of renewable energy in its national electricity mix,” Mr. Zakharov noted.
During the Q&A session, Andriy Konechenkov also drew attention to the common challenge faced by developers that have already received technical conditions for grid connection and for various reasons not been able to build a wind farm within the time limit of three years.
You can watch the video-recording of the webinar on the UWEA YouTube channel.
