Exemption of bioenergy projects on solid fuels from the payment of tax on carbon dioxide emissions will increase the interest of investors in these projects and the volume of investments in them, the deputy chairman of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine, Yuriy Shafarenko, has said.
“This will open up new opportunities for investment. Solar and wind plants are, of course, good, but Ukraine is an agricultural country, and bioenergy projects are very important. Development of bioenergy should be perceived as one of the most promising areas of renewable energy,” he said in an interview with the online portal Energy Reform.
He clarified that the relevant bill has already been agreed with the ministries of energy, digitalization, economy, as well as with the Ministry of Finance.
“The most important thing was to agree on the bill with the Ministry of Finance, because this Ministry is the least interested in it. But realizing the importance and correctness of this document, the Ministry of Finance agreed on it,” Shafarenko said, adding that exemption of bioenergy from the carbon tax is an international practice.
The agency plans to send the bill to the Ministry of Justice in the near future and after the conclusion is made by the agency – for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers, the expert said.
At the same time, Shafarenko highly appreciates the chances of this bill being approved by the Verkhovna Rada.
“I think the prospect of its adoption is very high. It does not have such opponents to be very against it,” he predicts.
At the same time, according to him, the exemption of bioenergy from paying the CO2 tax is extremely important, given the prospects for its significant increase.
“When this tax was 41 kopecks per tonne of CO2, it was an insignificant burden. Then the tax was raised to UAH 10 – already more, but it was still possible to put up, and this did not really restrain investors in the industry. But they want to increase it to UAH 30-60, and this will have a tangible effect on the development of bioenergy,” Shafarenko said.
