Mapping the Energy Opportunities in Ukraine: Solar and Wind Energy Assessment

by Greenpeace

Russian attacks on Ukraine have inflicted significant suffering on the civilian population and turned many people's lives upside down. A secure supply with heat and electricity became a major challenge to many households in Ukraine as Russia systematically attacks critical infrastructure. This dire situation puts an immediate increase of the country’s energy resilience to the forefront of the political agenda.

From the Greenpeace perspective, renewable energies can play a pivotal role here. This particularly applies to the expansion of solar and wind energy, because these technologies can make by far the largest, the cheapest and the most environmentally friendly contribution to renewable energies. Furthermore, the expansion of wind and solar offers enormous economic prospects. Given Ukraine’s outstanding size and land area, the country has the potential not only to be self-sufficient in energy supply, but it can also become a bigger exporter of green electricity and hydrogen. Additionally, there is great political interest in energy cooperation and trade with the states of the European Union.

In light of these considerations, Greenpeace commissioned the renowned scientists from the Institute for Sustainable Energy Future from Sydney to assess and calculate the potential of solar and wind energy in Ukraine. Their results are remarkable and will hopefully fuel the discussion about the direction of Ukrainian future energy policy. The potential of solar and wind energy remains largely underestimated in the Ukrainian government and discussion. The results also strengthen the idea of a stronger cooperation with Europe in energy supply and encourage Ukrainian communities and people to increasingly take their energy supply and future into their own hands.