Ukraine's economy ministry plans to increase share of renewable energy to 70% in 30 years

Ukrainian Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection Oleksiy Orzhel says the ministry plans to increase the share of energy generated from alternative sources up to 70% over the next 30 years.

"We say that the share of renewable energy should be about 70% by 2050. We have estimates, various charts, and scenarios for the implementation of this target. The most important thing is that the development [of the sector] must be economically viable," he said at the presentation of Ukraine's "green" energy transition concept by 2050, as reported by Ukrainian news outlet Hromadske on January 21.

Read alsoUkraine in TOP 10 green energy investment destinations

The minister added that "abuse in the field of alternative energy", in particular, excessive "green" (feed-in) tariffs for renewable generation, should be ceased in Ukraine. According to Orzhel, even without a feed-in tariff, investment in renewables is more profitable than that in traditional generation.

Today, renewables in Ukraine account for 5% of the total generation.

Capacity of new solar, wind, and other renewable energy plants built in 2019 totaled 4.5 GW, which was almost twice that of all "green" power plants operating in Ukraine as of early 2019.