Ukraine in June 2019 increased electricity generation from renewable energy sources by 2.8 times (by 378.3 million kWh) compared to June 2018, to 585 million kWh.
According to data from the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry, available to Interfax-Ukraine, production of electricity from renewable energy sources in January-June 2019 increased by 1.9 times compared to the same period last year, to 2.372 billion kWh.
The share of renewable energy in the structure of electricity production in June 2019 reached 5% against 1.8% in June 2018, while the share of renewable energy in the first half of this year was 3% against 1.5% in January-June 2018.
As reported, as of the end of the first half of the year, the installed capacity of renewable energy facilities reached 3,634 MW, in particular that of solar plants some 2,640 MW, wind plants 776.6 MW, biomass plants 51.3 MW, and biogas stations some 66.4 MW.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, by his decrees, has dismissed Ukrainian ambassadors in 11 countries. Presidential decrees dismiss Valeriy Chaly from the post of Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S., to Antigua and Barbuda and Trinidad and Tobago (part-time), Ambassador of Ukraine to Armenia Petro Lytvyn, and Ambassador to Turkmenistan Valentyn Shevaliov, the official website of the president reported.
Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Cyprus Borys Humeniuk, ambassador to Argentina and part-time to Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile, Yuriy Dudin, were dismissed.
Ambassador to Vietnam and part-time to Cambodia, Oleksiy Shovkoplias, ambassador to Morocco Yaroslav Koval, and ambassador to Jordan Serhiy Pasko, were also dismissed.
Zelensky fired ambassador of Ukraine to Nigeria and part-time to Ghana, Benin and Sierra Leone, Valeriy Aleksandruk, and ambassador to South Africa Taras Kuzmych.
In addition, Ambassador of Ukraine to Vatican and part-time to the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, Tetiana Izhevska, was also dismissed.
Ukraine as of July 19, 2019 had threshed early grains and leguminous crops on an area of 6.1 million hectares (63% of the forecast), harvesting 21.6 million tonnes of grain, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine has reported.
According to its data, farmers harvested 15.4 million tonnes of wheat from an area of 4.1 million hectares (63% of the forecast), 5.6 million tonnes of barley from 1.7 million hectares (69% of the forecast), 537,000 tonnes of peas from an area of 237,000 hectares (84% of the forecast).
In addition, farmers harvested 32,000 tonnes of rye from 12,000 hectares (10% of the forecast) and 12,000 tonnes of oats from 5,000 hectares (3%).
Farmers continue harvesting winter rapeseeds, having threshed 2.4 million tonnes from an area of 1 million hectares (79% of the forecast).
As reported, the ministry predicts the increase in the grain yield in 2019 under favorable conditions to 70.8 million tonnes against 70.1 million tonnes in 2018.
The USDA estimates grain harvest in Ukraine this year at 72.6 million tonnes, exports at 51.4 million tonnes.
The construction of a new terminal of Zaporizhia Airport should be completed in December 2019 to handle flights of Dnipro Airport during the reconstruction of the latter. President Volodymyr Zelensky set the task when visiting the terminal construction site, the president’s official website said.
The terminal is designed to receive 1 million passengers per year.
According to Zaporizhia Mayor Volodymyr Buriak, the airport has more than UAH 50 million in net profit.
More than three quarters of Russians (77%) are positive about Ukraine, according to the results of a Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCOIM) survey seen by Interfax. According to the poll, 12% of respondents said their attitude to Ukraine is very good, while 56% said they feel generally good about Ukraine.
As many as 21% of the poll’s respondents are negative about Ukraine, 9% are very negative about it, and 12% are generally negative about it.
The survey shows that 30% of the respondents consider Ukraine to be a fraternal country, 28% consider it just a neighbor, and 8% of the respondents see Ukraine as a country friendly to Russia.
Twelve percent of respondents believe Ukraine is a source of threat to Russia, while nine percent see Ukraine as a hostile country.
The sociologists said that there are more things between residents of Russia and Ukraine that divide them (48%). Thirty-six percent of the respondents believe there are more things between the people of the two countries that unite them.
The poll was conducted on June 20, 2019. It surveyed 1,600 respondents aged 18 and older.
Annual production of electricity from renewable energy sources, taking into account objects commissioned until 2020, will exceed 7.5 billion kWh, while annual payments for energy resources at feed-in tariffs will be EUR1.3 billion, according to the presentation posted on the website of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry.
It is reported that by the end of 2019 some 2.7 GW of renewable energy capacity will be additionally commissioned. Taking into account ‘green’ capacities put into operation by 2021, annual payments could amount to about EUR 1.8 billion, which corresponds to the payments made by Energoatom for 55% of electricity it generates (in 2018 prices).
The ministry said, with reference to the calculations of Ukrenergo, that additional costs to cover unbalances in the power system, which will arise due to the difficult predictability of alternative generation, could amount to EUR 300-900 million (depending on the price in the balancing market).
According to the ministry, in 2018, the total amount paid to producers of electricity from renewable energy sources on feed-in tariffs was EUR 560 million (including VAT), which corresponds to 7.9% of the total cost of electricity generated in the country with the share of sales being 1.9%
