Ukrainian president advocates lower feed-in tariffs

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he advocates lowering the so-called "green" or feed-in tariff, but in dialogue with companies that have already been generating electricity in Ukraine at a special tariff. "There are no such [high] 'green' tariffs anywhere in Europe. We have the highest tariffs. There are contracts with many companies that we have signed, and now we suddenly tell them: let's change the tariff. Therefore, I think the problem will be solved through communication with companies, which already have a contract, but it is necessary to find normal tariffs, which are market ones," he said during a press marathon on October 10, 2019. The president stressed he knows the issue is being raised, and the government realizes that "we must not lose relations with companies, including foreign ones, that already have a contract." "I think they will settle this issue, but the tariffs are really very high," the president added. When asked whether it is necessary to reduce the tariff, Zelensky said: "I think it is necessary so that we have a market." As UNIAN reported earlier, on October 1, 2014, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers approved the national renewable energy action plan until 2020, which provides for an increase in the share of renewables in the total electricity generation balance from about 1% to 11%. The main incentive of renewable energy generation in Ukraine is the so-called "green" or feed-in tariff, which is higher than other power rates. Experts say the "green" tariff is several times higher in Ukraine than that in European countries. New renewable energy facilities with capacity of 742.5 MW were put into operation in Ukraine in 2018, which was 2.8 times up from 2017. Thus, the total installed capacity of renewable sources of energy exceeded 2.100 GW in 2018.

Ukrainian president advocates lower feed-in tariffs

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