bneGREEN: War in Ukraine speeds up global transition to renewable energy

bneGREEN: War in Ukraine speeds up global transition to renewable energy
The transition to renewable energy in Ukraine is accelerating as a result of the war. / bne IntelliNews
By Dominic Culverwell in London December 7, 2022

The global energy crisis caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has sped up the green transition, Ukraine Business news reported on December 7.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), renewable energy will double in capacity across the world over the next five years, fuelled in part by today’s precarious energy situation. By 2027, experts believe capacity could be as much as 5,640 GW, more than double the current capacity of 2,400 GW, with India, China and the US rapidly implementing policy reforms.

“These technologies have already been growing rapidly, but the global energy crisis pushed them to a new acceleration phase. After all, countries seek to benefit from their advantages in the field of energy security,” said IEA Director Fatih Birol.

Already, the war in Ukraine has prompted new investment in green hydrogen to climb to over $73bn as costs fall, making fossil fuel-produced hydrogen uneconomic as gas prices soar. Although green hydrogen is not without its problems, experts believe it will play a crucial role in the energy transition.

Ukraine itself looks towards a green future with post-war developments focusing on renewable energy sources. Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Energy Yaroslav Demchenkov has high hopes that Ukraine will achieve a sustainable future with a variety of key renewable energy sources alongside EU co-operation.

The war-torn country is already implementing environmental decisions and doubled the sales of green electricity in September compared to August, selling 356,000 MWh of electricity from renewable sources for UAH1.1bn ($29.7mn) with 327 contracts. In August, the State Enterprise Guaranteed Buyer sold 162,000 MWh for UAH406mn ($11mn) with 147 contracts.

Moreover, Ukraine will open its first two biomethane plants by the end of 2022 in the Chernihiv region and Vinnytsia region, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy. The Chernihiv plant has a capacity of 3mn cubic metres of fuel per year, while the Vinnytsia region has a much larger capacity of 10 mcm.

The EU has expressed interest in co-operating with Ukraine on its green journey, particularly now that the war-torn country has EU candidate status. One of the potentially mutually beneficial outcomes is for Ukraine to export biomethane to the bloc via pre-existing gas pipelines, which the union will buy for the same price as natural gas.

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