'We do not give up': Ukraine's wind sector defiant in face of war

Europe's second-largest country by size and boasting significant wind and solar potential, Ukraine is one of the continent's burgeoning renewables markets. How much this has changed since Russia's invasion of the country on Feb. 24 is unclear, but ambitions remain firm.

"The war has changed our plans," Andriy Konechenkov, chairman of the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association, or UWEA, said April 5 at WindEurope's annual conference in Bilbao, Spain.

Showing a video of a wind farm near the Ukrainian city of Kherson, now under Russian occupation, Konechenkov explained that much of his country's wind capacity is based in regions subjected to hostilities.

Ukraine has 1.7 GW of wind in operation, and its windswept plains have potential to host plenty more. Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 shook confidence in Ukraine's wind drive for a period, but 2019 saw a burst in activity, Konechenkov said. In 2022, the country was meant to add 1 GW of capacity, according to UWEA.

"It's one of the best countries for wind power I've ever seen, and I hope we can get back to work soon," Peter Gish, founder of Ukraine Power Resources, a wind project developer and investor, said in Bilbao.

Andriy Konechenkov, chairman of Ukraine's wind industry association, speaking at the WindEurope conference on April 5. Source: S&P Global Commodity Insights

Ukraine relies heavily on nuclear energy and has committed to phasing out coal by 2035. The country's nuclear fleet and waste storage sites, including above-ground storage, are posing a risk in the current invasion, according to Galyna Shmidt, a board member at UWEA.

"We are all scared of a nuclear war, but we have to realize that Russia has already started it," Shmidt said, referring to the attack on Europe's largest nuclear power station in Zaporizhzhia in early March. "Every day we are balancing on the edge of a nuclear disaster."

Renewables have 'suffered'

Beyond the attacks on the nuclear plant, UWEA said that solar plants and wind turbines have also been destroyed, as have other parts of the energy infrastructure in the country. Russia's invasion poses a threat to nearly half of Ukraine's 9.5-GW installed renewable energy capacity, the group said in March.

"Operations have suffered extremely," Alexander Podprugin, COO of Elementum Energy Ltd., one of Ukraine's largest renewables operators, said at the conference via video link.

Elementum runs 540 MW of solar capacity and in 2021 built the first 40-MW stage of its first wind farm, with a second 60-MW phase under construction when the war started. This had to be paused as equipment provider General Electric Co. halted works in the country, Podprugin said.

"[Operation and maintenance] of existing wind farms is an even bigger problem," the executive said, with 20% of Elementum's turbines now halted because work was not able to take place.

Given the destruction in many parts of the country and the uncertainties relating to the war, it is nearly impossible to predict the future of Ukraine's wind industry, according to Shmidt. UWEA's presence at the WindEurope conference is testament to the fact that that work goes on.

"As you can see, we do not give up," Shmidt said.

The war has accelerated some things, though. On March 16, Ukraine's electricity grid was connected to the continental European power system, having decoupled from Russia's grid in light of the invasion. Ukraine now benefits from inflows of power, but Podprugin argued that a future Ukrainian renewables powerhouse can give back, and even supply substantial volumes of hydrogen into Europe.

"We hope that as soon as the war ends, we can get back to work," the executive said.

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