Kiev, December 19 - Neftegaz.RU. On 18 December, the EU-Ukraine Renewable Energy Investment Forum took place in Ukraine, co-organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada Energy Committee, the Ukrainian State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving, and Ukraine's energy think-tank Dixi Group.
The EU has now put on the table its long-term vision for 2050, aiming to become the world's 1st major economy to go climate neutral by mid-century. The Forum’s aim is to showcase the EU’s best practices on its uptake of renewable energy sources and increase the share of renewables in Ukraine by 2020.
The event gathered some 200 key Ukrainian and European stakeholders working on energy policy and renewable energy policy in particular, as well as members of the international community active on renewable energy policy in Ukraine. Among the main participants on the Ukrainian side were Vsevolod Kovalchuk, CEO of Ukrenergo, and on the EU side, Gerassimos Thomas, Deputy Director-General DG ENER.
Speaking before the start of the forum, the European Commission Director-General for Energy, Dominique Ristori, said: «I believe this event will be a catalyst to unlock all the potential Ukraine has in the field of renewable energy sources. In particular I hope the discussions will focus on innovative approaches on renewable energy and the use of cutting-edge technology.»
On Ukrainian side, the Acting Head of Ukraine's Parliament's Energy Committee Aleksandr Dombrovsky noted: «Today, renewable energy sector in Ukraine is developing rapidly, especially this is relevant for solar and wind electricity generation. So, installed capacity of solar power stations at the end of the III quarter 2018 reached approximately 1100 MW, while at the end of 2014 it was at the level of 411 MW.»
Head of the State Agency for Energy Efficiency of Ukraine Sergiy Savchuk speaking about renewable energy status and results informed that: «Over the past 4 years, about 1.5 billion euros have been invested in new renewable energy projects in Ukraine. In particular, 1 billion euros are invested in more than 1000 MW of new renewable power generation and 460 million euros - in 2000 MW of new biomass-to-heat generation capacities».
