New concept of "green" transition of Ukraine: why is it important?
The "Green" concept was developed for Ukraine to switch to clean energy from renewable sources. On the one hand, this is due to global climate change, on the other hand, with the desire for sustainable economic development and partnerships with the EU countries.
The Green Transition concept is a gradual action plan until 2050.
European context
Climate neutral development is the strategic goal of European countries for the coming decades. By 2050, they plan to implement the principles of the European Green Deal and transform their economy so that most of the energy comes from wind, solar, water and biogas, and greenhouse gas emissions are close to zero.
Success in this matter has several components:
- maximization of energy efficiency;
- maximum deployment of renewable energy sources (RES) and electrification;
- transition to ecologically clean transport;
- introduction of circular economy (closed cycle economy);
- development of "smart" networks and communications;
- expansion of bioenergy and natural carbon absorption.
Ukraine's general course on green energy issues is very inspiring. We have ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. By the way, the latter is one of the first. Therefore, for Ukraine, involvement in the overall restructuring of European economies is a logical step and an opportunity to catch the wave of rapid transformations for the better. Therefore, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine revised the energy strategy "Security, Efficiency, Competitiveness", which was supposed to be valid until 2035 (approved by the order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated August 18, 2017 No. 605-r), and developed a new "green" concept.
What do we bet on?
The main directions of the energy transition for Ukraine will be energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.
Energy efficiency will allow rational use of available resources and reduce costs. The government should pay special attention to the housing sector, because here the loss of resources on the way to the consumer is the greatest. At the same time, renewable energy sources will gradually take over a large share of the advanced electrification of the economy (transport, industry, buildings).
Given the potential of our country, it may well produce 70% of all energy from renewable sources, and at least 15% of this will come from rooftop solar panels. Solar and wind stations will replace thermal power plants, the share of nuclear energy will be up to 25%, and the rest will be provided by hydroelectric power plants and biogas plants. In such conditions, a significant increase in the role of decentralized energy supply is expected, which will require new technologies.\
Currently, ETL Group already has customers who fully meet the needs of their enterprises in energy at the expense of solar stations, and they sell the rest to the state at a "green" tariff. In the future, such enterprises will be able to supply energy to the nearest settlements, so it will cover a short distance, which is energy efficient and cheap.
(not)Bad news
For Ukraine's transition to a climate-neutral economy, it is necessary to annually attract investments at an average level of 5% of GDP. The transition requires large simultaneous investments, which can result in unpleasant amounts in the bills of end-users of energy. Therefore, the state must create investment conditions when it will be profitable to "play for the long haul".
The negative effect should be compensated by more accurate energy accounting systems, the use of "passive house" technologies in construction, the ability to install autonomous energy sources, convenient lending, etc. But the "green" transition will bring Ukraine inexhaustible and almost free energy sources, so it's worth investing in "green" energy. We say free, because they do not need to purchase resources and such capital investments as new thermal power plants or nuclear power plants. After the payback period, under today's conditions, which is about 5 years, solar and wind power plants do not have many costs.
For private investors, it is predicted that favorable conditions will be created by the state. Support schemes include determining the cost of power generation on a competitive basis and moving from preferential prices/tariffs to preferential connections or priority access. Any assistance from the state will meet the requirements of the Energy Community Treaty and the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, that is, it is aimed at not distorting competition in the market.
We at ETL Group believe that the green transition will change the country in just 30 years, and we really want to put our hands, hearts and experience of our engineers into this. The energy transition will make it possible to achieve energy independence, sustainable energy production and consumption, and climate neutrality. Behind these words lie such pleasant things as improving air quality in cities, expanding freedoms for business, lowering energy tariffs, development opportunities for young people and many other changes that will affect the lives of ordinary people.
