Does the New Memorandum Break the Deadlock for Renewables in Ukraine?

Online Discussion at 5.30pm (Berlin, Brussels, Vienna)/ 6.30pm (Kyiv)

The situation in the Ukrainian energy sector has become critical in early 2020. The lack of reforms on stimulating flexibility of the electricity network, the manual market management and the delay of auctions, the fixing of a non-market price for private consumers as well as the growth of the renewables share in production led to enormous debts of payments for renewable electricity producers and to a near market default.

The Government of Ukraine and investors conducted through almost half a year negotiations with the mediation by the European Energy Community Secretariat to find a solution in compromise. On June 10, the Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and two renewable energy producers associations signed the “Memorandum of Understanding for the resolution of problematic issues in the renewable energy industry of Ukraine”. On one hand, this memorandum does show all stakeholders a way to a stabilization on the electricity market. On the other hand, damage to investments remains and many investors, especially owners of solar generation, are not ready to accept the negotiated cut of the feed-in-tariffs and seek arbitration.

Another recent announcement raised hopes for a new push in renewables development in Ukraine: the declaration by the Ukrainian and the German governments on the envisaged “energy partnership” between the two countries.

The invited experts will share their assessments on the prospects and critical conditions for further growth of renewable electricity generation in Ukraine. What are the implications of the memorandum deal for the future of the Ukrainian energy sector? Does the feed-in-tariff cut durably ruin Ukraine’s renewables investment reputation? What are the risks for the overall decarbonisation pathway for energy production and for achieving renewables targets?  And how can bilateral cooperation like the German-Ukrainian Energy Partnership contribute to accelerate the energy transition?

Speakers:

• Vitaliy Radchenko, CMS-Ukraine, Kyiv
• Oleksandra Gumeniuk, European Ukrainian Energy Agency, Kyiv
• Igor Tynnyi, Ukrainian Association of Renewable Energy, Kyiv
• Dirk Buschle, European Energy Community Secretariat, Vienna
• Ellen von Zitzewitz, Federal Ministry for Economy and Energy, Berlin
• Inna Sovsun, Member of Ukrainian Parliament, Kyiv

Welcome: Robert Sperfeld, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Berlin

Moderation: Oksana Aliieva, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Kyiv

Contact: Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Robert Sperfeld, sperfeld@boell.de

Background:
Fact Sheet:  Ukraine and EU: Towards a Decarbonisation Partnership

Further Readings:
https://ua.boell.org/en/climate-energetics

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