U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Kristina Kvien during an online meeting with Acting Energy Minister Yuriy Vitrenko confirmed the U.S. intentions to help reform the energy sector in Ukraine, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said.
“Constructive meeting with acting Minister of Energy Vitrenko yesterday, where CDA Kvien reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to helping Ukraine succeed in transforming and modernizing its energy sector,” the embassy said on Facebook on Wednesday.
As reported, at the end of December 2020, acting Energy Minister Yuriy Vitrenko met with Head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission Ivanna Vladkova-Hollar. The key issues of the meeting were reforms in the energy sector, financial stability of energy markets and further development of energy industries.
According to government sources, the mission’s interest in the energy sector is caused by the sharp increase in the energy market deficit in recent years, which is proposed to be covered, in particular, by the budget or government guarantees.
Ukrenergo and the German energy agency DENA will analyze the technical and regulatory problems associated with the integration of fast growing capacities of renewable energy sources and will develop necessary recommendations. According to a press release from Ukrenergo, the main instruments for effective integration are systems for accurate forecasting of generation from renewable energy sources, a developed market for auxiliary services and interconnectors.
Ukrenergo notes that at present the united energy system of Ukraine can accept 4.75 GW of renewable energy capacities without negative consequences, while by the end of 2019 this figure will amount to 3.965 GW.
“A further increase in the share of renewable energy generation without the urgent legislative settlement of the issue of their work in the energy market and their controlled construction pose risks of the system imbalance. And first of all, the problem lies in a lack of responsibility of “green” generation for imbalances, which, in turn, does not stimulate manufacturers to accurate forecasting of production,” the company said.
The project “Transformation of the Energy System to Optimize the Integration of Renewable Energy in Ukraine” is funded by a grant from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and will last until March 2020.
Norway is considering the possibility of expanding investments in the energy sector of Ukraine, Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide has said. “We will continue to provide support for energy efficiency, reforms, our dialogue with Naftogaz, corporate governance … We are also looking at how we can expand this support,” she said at the second international Ukraine Reform Conference, held in Copenhagen (Denmark). She noted that Ukraine’s reform efforts in recent years have stimulated a flow of investment in the energy sector of Ukraine, in particular, in renewable energy.
However, we would like to see more investment between Ukraine and Norway in both directions, she added, stressing that investments are possible as a result of effective structural reforms.
A truly independent Anti-Corruption Court will only become a catalyst for private investment, she said.
At the same time, the official said that even pre-election moods should not prevent Ukraine from realizing its goals, so that the expectations of Western partners remain at a high level.