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The Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023, held in London, UK, demonstrated a clear interest from British private businesses in investing in the Ukrainian energy market, particularly in clean technologies and innovations. This interest was further solidified on 3 May 2024, when the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine announced the allocation of £16 million by the UK Government for the implementation of the first 13 innovative energy projects in Ukraine under the InnovateUkraine program. Notably, this initiative includes a project for constructing a wind farm dedicated to hydrogen production.
Marking Europe Day on 9 May 2024, UWEA in cooperation with RenewableUK, held a webinar focused on exchanging experience in wind energy development in the Ukrainian and British markets, as well as discussing available investment opportunities in the Ukrainian market and provided compelling reasons for investors to engage. The webinar focused on both onshore and offshore wind.
Jane Cooper representing the RenewableUK-backed Offshore Wind Industry Council opened the webinar with a comprehensive overview of the UK’s onshore and offshore wind energy landscape. She highlighted the existing challenges that must be overcome to facilitate further expansion of wind power capacity within the country.
“2024 is expected to be the year of offshore wind for the UK, with the British Government allocating £1 billion for its development through the GiGA (Green Industries Growth Accelerator) program. At the same time, to increase wind energy capacity further successfully both in Britain and throughout Europe, it is necessary to simplify the connection procedure and develop the electricity grid infrastructure,” she emphasized.
Ms. Cooper’s speech was complemented by Rhys Thomas from RenewableUK, who noted that in addition to onshore and offshore wind energy, the UK is currently placing a significant emphasis on the construction of energy storage facilities, the total capacity of projects being implemented in the country has already reached 96.484 MWh.
Albert Clark from the Department for Business and Trade of the UK Government, in turn, spoke about the investment support provided by the British Government for the development of wind energy, namely through the UK Infrastructure Bank, the Scottish National Investment Bank, the GIGA programs, and UKEF. “The UK Government recognizes that the country needs a strong manufacturing base to achieve its energy security and net zero goals,” said Mr. Clarke.
The Ukrainian wind energy market and its investment opportunities were presented at the webinar by Olga Rybachuk, UWEA Board Member and Managing Director of Elementum Energy, and Kateryna Knysh, Head of the Analytical Department at UWEA.
Kateryna Knysh: “Why consider Ukraine for your next investment? It's simple: amidst the ongoing war, Ukraine is the only country experiencing economic growth. In fact, the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy projects a 4.6% growth in the national economy for 2024, following a remarkable growth of over 5% in 2023. But why choose wind energy specifically? Because Ukraine is considered today the largest site with available area for construction; it is a country where the average annual wind speed at a height of 120 m reaches 7-8 m/s; it is a country where significant support for private business and large investment projects is declared at the state level. Moreover, investors have access to various collaboration models, ranging from acquiring ready-to-build projects to engaging in joint development ventures.”
Olga Rybachuk: “Massive destructions of Ukraine’s centralized large utility generation sends strong signals of huge demand for new production capacities. Along with international support, a growing economy, rich wind potential, ongoing market liberalization, green agenda and EU-vector - this is the invitation for all renewables sector stakeholders to jump in. We at Elementum are not only operating one of the largest renewables portfolios in Ukraine, but we keep constructing, developing, and growing our operations supporting the country’s energy security, and we believe this is a huge market for all industry professionals to come.”
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